MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia has not interfered in Syria's civil war by conducting airstrikes against terrorist groups in the country, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"Yes, a civil war is underway there [in Syria], but the Russian air campaign has nothing to do with it," Zakharova said in a program aired by Radio Liberty on Friday.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting numerous opposition factions and radical Islamist groups. Russia began its aerial anti-terrorism campaign in Syria on September 30, 2015 at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.