Vladimir Putin
Vladimir PutinReuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday refuted claims that Russia's nine-year intervention in Syria had been a failure. However, he voiced concerns about Israel's military activities in the region following the ousting of his ally, Bashar Al-Assad.

Speaking at his annual marathon news conference and quoted by the Reuters news agency, Putin addressed several questions about Syria, emphasizing that Moscow had made proposals to Syria's new leadership in Damascus to maintain Russia's air and naval bases in the country.

In his first public remarks on the situation, Putin revealed that he had not yet met Assad, who fled to Moscow earlier this month, but stated his intention to do so.

Downplaying the impact of Assad's fall, Putin highlighted Russia's military achievements in Syria since its intervention in 2015, saying they had prevented the country from becoming a "terrorist enclave." He then claimed that Israel appeared to be the "main beneficiary" of the current situation.

"Russia condemns the seizure of any Syrian territories. This is obvious," Putin said as he commented on Israel’s deployment of troops into the buffer zone on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights following Assad’s ouster.

While expressing hope that Israel would eventually withdraw from Syrian territory, Putin remarked, "I have the impression that not only are they not going to leave, but they are going to reinforce there."

Putin also commented on Turkey's actions in Syria, noting that Ankara was pursuing its security concerns regarding Kurdish fighters, whom it considers terrorists.

"We all understand this. There will be many problems. But we are on the side of international law and for the sovereignty of all countries, while respecting their territorial integrity, meaning Syria," he said, according to Reuters.

Regarding Russia's two primary military bases in Syria, Putin stated that most of the Syrians Russia had engaged with supported their continued presence. Talks on the matter, however, were still ongoing. He added that Russia had proposed using its Hmeimim airbase for humanitarian aid delivery and had facilitated the evacuation of 4,000 Iranian fighters from Syria via the same route.

Russia, which has maintained strong ties with Syria since the early days of the Cold War, had been conducting air strikes in Syria since September 2015, in support of Assad as he was fighting the rebels.

While Russia insisted it was attacking targets associated with the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization, Western officials claimed Moscow was also targeting so-called "moderate" rebel groups fighting ISIS.