Russian arms supplies 'backs Syria's fight against ISIS, not Assad regime' - Lavrov

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has defended Russia's support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and called on world powers to help equip the Syrian army, which he said is the most efficient force against Islamic State.

Earlier today, Lavrov insisted that by sending weapons to Syria, Russia was not propping up the Assad regime but was contributing to defeating Isis fighters.

“I can only say once again that our servicemen and military experts are there to service Russian military hardware, to assist the Syrian army in using this hardware,” he said at a news conference in Moscow. “And we will continue to supply it to the Syrian government in order to ensure its proper combat readiness in its fight against terrorism.”

The statement comes against a backdrop of concerns raised by the US and Nato over a buildup of Russian military forces in Syria. The Western powers blame Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for the Syrian crisis, which has claimed more than 250,000 lives so far in four years of conflict.

Moscow is claiming that its ongoing arms supplies to the Assad regime is part of international efforts to combat ISIS.

Syria has long been an ally of Moscow and the continuing support reflects Russian concern that the regime is on the brink of collapse, as well as hopes by president Vladimir Putin that forming a united front against Isis could help rebuild bridges with the west after the Ukraine conflict caused strained ties between the two.

Lavrov  confirmed that Russia would continue to supply Assad with weapons, calling on other countries to join in with helping the Syrian government regain conrol.

“You cannot defeat Islamic State with airstrikes only,” Lavrov said. “It’s necessary to cooperate with ground troops and the Syrian army is the most efficient and powerful ground force to fight the Islamic State.”