"The ground operation, [launched] by local troops as well as some Arab countries — if they dare to start it — is of great importance and should be staged in order to defend the newly captured positions", he said.
At the same time, he underscored that each country should possess sovereignty on the issue of sending ground troops to Syria, something that he said France is not going to do.
"France, in turn, does not intend to send its ground troops to Syria to combat Daesh," he pointed out.
His remarks came after Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said that he did not rule out the possibility of sending his country's special forces to Syria as part of the US-led coalition to degrade and destroy Daesh.
Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting opposition factions and extremist groups, such as Daesh and the Al-Nusra Front, which are banned in Russia.
September 30, 2015 saw the beginning of the Russian air campaign in Syria which was launched following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.
