President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday defended Russia's military support for Syria, saying it was necessary to defeat the Islamic State and "terrorist aggression."
Speaking at a meeting of a regional security bloc led by Russia, Putin rejected Western criticism that his support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had helped provoke a dire humanitarian crisis, and he implied that the West's support for Syrian rebels had done more to spark Europe's refugee crisis.
Putin did not specify what weapons Russia has supplied to Assad, but sightings of Russian armor and a small number of Russian troops have been reported this month in the Syrian port city of Latakia, an Assad stronghold.
"We must sideline geopolitical ambitions, refrain from so-called double standards, from the policy of direct or indirect use of separate terrorist groups to achieve opportunistic goals, including the change of governments and regimes that may be disagreeable to whomever," he said.
