"World order is being decided in Syria" - Russian official

"World order is being decided in Syria" - Russian official

"The U.S. knows they will lose the image of an unavoidable nation if they experience failure in Syria, for months now (U.S.) Secretary of State John Kerry has been aware of this, too," Pushkov said.

The Russian official described his country as being one of the three world powers today, along with the United States and China - one which can make decisions at the global level independently. He stressed that Russia, as a world power, intervened in Syria "taking responsibility for the situation in the world."

He also believes that the EU is dependent on the United States.

Pushkov said that Russia will not send ground forces to Syria and that the goal of its engagement is to support the Syrian army and all those who fight against Islamic State.

"We support Bashar al-Assad because he is still the legitimate president of Syria, and with the exception of the Kurds, the only force in that country which is on the ground, fighting against Islamic State," he stressed.

Pushkov denied that in Syria, Russia wants to "teach the West a lesson."

"However, we see no reason to stay away when the United States over the last two decades - during which they had a monopoly on solving the problem in the Middle East - completely destroyed the region," he said.

Pushkov believes there is a catastrophe, rather than a vacuum, in the Middle East, and one of the United States making.

"Western analysts use the term vacuum, but it's merely a polite way of saying that Americans experienced a complete failure. Libya, Iraq, Syria, Yemen - the U.S. achieved nothing except chaos," he is convinced.

Pushkov said that Russia was responsible for the security of its allies in Central Asia - Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

"That is our vulnerable front yard, which is threatened by Islamic State. It is time for someone to restore order in the Middle East," he added.

According to him, the order in Syria was destroyed "by someone else." He also reminded that the United States wants to overthrow Assad.

"When U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012 realized that the coup against Assad which he prepared would not not work, he started, along with Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, to support radical Islamist groups. We intervened in Syria when the targeted solution of the U.S. did not work. Syria needs a political solution," said Pushkov.

He pointed out that Assad is supported by a large part of the Syrian population, and that a political solution cannot be based on overthrowing him, but on negotiations between the government and opposition.

It was only Russia's military action in Syria, he added, that reestablished the balance and enabled a political solution. Without Russia, he is convinced, there would be no ceasefire in Syria now - "no negotiations, while Islamic State and Al Nusra would be partitioning Damascus between them today."

"The weakening or destruction of Islamic State brings greater security to Russia, but if this terrorist organization is strengthened that is a greater danger to Russia," he warned.

Asked about the danger of direct confrontation between Turkey and Russia in Syria, Pushkov said that Russia acted "very responsibly" after the shooting down of a Russian bomber and the killing of its Russian pilot.