Vladimir Putin: U.S. backing terrorists in the Middle East

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech on Thursday accused the U.S. of backing terrorism and playing a “double game” in the Middle East.

Speaking at the annual gathering of the Valdai Club, a group of Russian and international analysts and politicians, Mr. Putin said the U.S. had attempted to use certain terrorist groups for its own interest.

“It’s always hard to play a double game: to declare a fight against terrorists, but at the same time try to use some of them to move the pieces on the Middle Eastern chessboard in your own favour,” Mr. Putin said, the Guardian reported.

“There’s no need to play with words and split terrorists into moderate and not moderate. I would like to know what the difference is,” he added.

Western powers have accused Moscow of targeting moderate rebel groups during its bombing campaign in Syria, saying Russia is doing so in order to prop up the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russia has claimed its airstrikes are mainly focused on Islamic State targets.

A recent analysis of Russian airstrikes concluded that roughly 80 percent of targets were not in areas where the Islamic State group operates, but instead were intended for targets controlled by rebel groups, some backed by the U.S.

Mr. Assad traveled to Moscow on Tuesday to meet with Mr. Putin. After that meeting, the Russian leader declared the Syrian president and his government to be “fully legitimate.”

The Russian president said the West was guilty of shortsightedness, focusing on Mr. Assad while ignoring the much greater threat of the Islamic State.

“The so-called Islamic State has taken control of a huge territory. How was that possible? Think about it: If Damascus or Baghdad are seized by the terrorist groups, they will be almost the official authorities, and will have a launchpad for global expansion. Is anyone thinking about this or not?” Mr. Putin told the group

The Valdai Club held its annual meeting at a luxury hotel in the mountain resort of Krasnaya Polyana, one of the venues for last year’s Winter Olympics, the Guardian reported.