“We’ll continue to supply this equipment to the Syrian state in order to ensure its due defense capability in countering the terrorist threat”, Lavrov said.
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“Our servicemen and military experts are there to service Russian military hardware, to assist the Syrian army in using this hardware”, he said. But Russian Federation supports the government of Assad, while the United States says his presence makes the situation worse.
On that same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia have been carrying out weapons deliveries to Syria according legitimate contracts that did not violate worldwide laws.
“You can not defeat Islamic State with air strikes only”, Lavrov said.
“If there is a need from our side for additional measures to increase support for the anti-terrorist fight, this question will be reviewed in an appropriate way”, she said.
USA officials say they do not know what Moscow’s intentions are in Syria.
Russian Federation in recent weeks has been conducting a major military buildup in Syria amid a flurry of reports that Moscow is preparing to set up an airbase in the Latakia province to conduct airstrikes on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
“We have been saying this from the very beginning of operations by the coalition led by our American colleagues, and we are still, better late than never, inviting its members to start cooperating with the Syrian government and the Syrian army”, Lavrov said.
The four-year-old multi-sided civil war in Syria has killed around 250,000 people and driven half of Syria’s 23 million people from their homes.
Differences over Assad’s future have made it impossible for Moscow and the West to take joint action against Islamic State, even though they say the group, which rules a self-proclaimed caliphate on swathes of Syria and Iraq, is their common enemy.
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AFP on Wednesday reported that Russia’s military activities have centered on the Bassel al-Assad worldwide Airport south of the coastal city of Latakia.
