In his annual marathon news conference Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to Russia’s intervention in the Syrian civil war as a military "exercise" for Russia’s "air forces, air defense," and "intelligence."
"We did not start the war" in Syria, Putin told reporters during his end-of-year news conference from Moscow, according to a translation by the state-sponsored news agency Russia Today.
He added: "We are just conducting separate operations, using our air forces, air defense, intelligence. This is not a serious burden for the budget … It’s hard to imagine a better exercise [for the Russian forces]. So we can train there [in Syria] for a long time without any serious harm to our budget."