Russia to Keep Backing Syria in Anti-Terrorism Fight

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reiterated Russia's support to the Syrian authorities in their struggle against terrorism.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia will continue supporting the Syrian authorities in their struggle against terrorism, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We have always supplied equipment to them for their struggle against terrorists… We are supporting them, we were supporting them and we will be supporting them," Zakharova told The New York Times newspaper in an interview.

Syria has been engulfed in a civil war for more than four years. Apart from battling against so-called moderate opposition, Damascus has had to counter the advance of various militant groups, including the notorious ISIL jihadist group, and the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

Russia has been engaged in international efforts to find a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria, as well as providing humanitarian aid to the people of the conflict-torn country. In August, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that he highly appreciated Russia's assistance, and was sure Moscow had proved its firm position in supporting Damascus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on Friday that it was too early to consider launching anti-ISIL airstrikes on Syrian territory. Putin confirmed that Russia provides "considerable" support to Syria in terms of equipment, training and weaponry.