No military exercises involving Russia, China, Iran planned in Syria - Assad's adviser
MOSCOW. June 19 (Interfax) - No military exercises are planned on Syria's territory with Russia, China, and Iran's participation, says Bouthaina Shaaban, a political and media adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"There will be nothing of the sort. This is another false report being spread about us," Shaaban said on Tuesday in response to Interfax-AVN's request that she comment on a report by the pan-Arabist TV news channel Al Arabiya citing the Iranian news agency Fars that Russian, Chinese, Syrian, and Iranian troops would conduct large-scale joint exercises in Syria within the next several weeks.
The report claimed that the exercise would be the largest one ever conducted in the Middle East, with about 90,000 servicemen from ground, naval, and air forces taking part in them. The report also claimed that about 400 planes and 1,000 tanks, plus several Russian submarines, destroyers, and an aircraft carrier would be involved in the maneuvers.
