Every country has criminals who have to be fought. They can exist anywhere, including the government or the army - or outside the government and army.

Look at the results of regime change in Iraq. You can't possibly claim that it was successful.

That's the problem with the American position; they think that they are the police of the world.

Fighting the terrorists in Syria is not only in the interest of Syria or the Syrian people; in the interest of the Middle East, of Europe itself - something that many officials in the West don't see or don't realize or don't acknowledge - and in the interest of the Russian people, because they have been facing terrorists for decades now.

Conversely, it is correct to say that bringing about peace would be the best way to fight terror.

Freedom and democracy are nothing but instruments, just like stability. The goal is called progress and growth. Anyone who puts freedom ahead of stability is hurting growth.

This is reality. If [the American officials] want to believe, that's good, that will help them understand the region and be more successful in their policies.