ABU DHABI (Sputnik) — The participation of Russian troops in the ground operation in Syria is not being discussed, Valentina Matvienko, the speaker of the upper house of parliament, said Monday in a comment on the difficult situation in connection with an offensive by militants on the Syrian cities of Palmyra and Aleppo.
"There is no talk of participation of Russian Federation, Russian troops in the ground operation in Syria. We have said this from the start," Matvienko said.
She said Russia's Aerospace Forces support the actions of Syria's government troops.