Unclear if Putin claims to support Free Syrian Army are true

 In a statement referring to the FSA, President Putin said: “Now several of its units numbering over 5,000 troops are engaged in offensive actions against terrorists, alongside regular forces, in the provinces of Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Raqqa”. “Besides, we are providing them, as well as the Syrian army, with air support and are supplying armaments, ammunition and hardware”, he specified.

“Russia supplies weapons to the legitimate authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic”, Peskov told reporters.

The downing of the jet has brought previously warm ties between Turkey and Russian Federation to a post-Cold War low.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria now control 70 per cent of Syrian territory, putting their number at 60,000.

Declarations from Putin seem to be the first to affirm Moscow is truly supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s adversaries in the combat against forces from the Islamic State.

This insistence may be a sticking point for Assad’s allies in Moscow, and Kerry confirmed today he was working with the Saudis to iron out some “kinks” in the rebel plan.

They became worse when Russian Federation began military operations last September in Syria – where a U.S.-led coalition is targeting Daesh.

Without naming Turkey, Putin warned against “further provocations”.

Russia’s military base in Syria, he added, has more aircraft and air defense weapons now.

“I order you to act in an extremely tough way”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, delivers his speech during a meeting with top military officials in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 11, 2015.

Putin reiterated the importance of ramping up cooperation with countries “really interested in eliminating terrorists”, including the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition. The secretary of state met with Lavrov in Sochi in May, during which the Russian foreign minister presented Kerry with a Victory Day t-shirt and baskets of potatoes and tomatoes.

Last month, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border, claiming it violated Turkish airspace. The message from President Vladimir Putin was clear – to eliminate any threats to his military in Syria.

Both Moscow and Ankara have repeatedly accused the other of helping Islamic State.

“Our actions [in Syria] are not dictated by some abstract vague geopolitical interests”, Putin said.

“The most important thing is to prevent the threat to Russian Federation itself”.

Russia’s ambitious arms modernization program has continued at full pace this year, even though low oil prices and Western sanctions drove the economy into recession. “The airbase has been reinforced with new air defense means”.

Russian Federation intends to equip the nuclear triad with new modern weapons.