Putin Says Russia Is Backing Some Syrian Opposition Forces

His statement appeared to be the first time Moscow said it was actually supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents in the fight against Islamic State forces.

Syrian rebels are being provided with military support and air cover against Islamist militants, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. If confirmed, it will represent a major policy shift for Moscow, which has been accused by the West of striking moderate rebels instead of its declared goal, the Islamic State group.

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian warplanes have flown 4,000 combat sorties in Syria since Moscow launched its air campaign in September, destroying a staggering 8,000 “terrorist” targets.

Putin said strikes by Russia’s air force and navy had inflicted heavy damage on the infrastructure of Islamic State, which controls large areas of eastern Syria and western Iraq.

The incident is likely to heighten tensions between the two nations who are seriously at odds over Syria and the Turkish shooting down of a Russian military jet last month.

“The Turkish military diplomat was given a tough explanation about the potentially disastrous consequences from Ankara’s reckless actions towards Russia’s military contingent fighting against worldwide terrorism in Syria”, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. “I would like to warn those who would once again try to organise some sort of provocations against our servicemen”, he said in a thinly veiled threat to Ankara.

A Russian destroyer used small arms fire on Sunday to ward off a Turkish fishing ship and prevent a collision in the Aegean Sea, the Defence Ministry said, calling the actions of Turkey’s vessel “provocative”.

Russia also has introduced a slew of economic sanctions, including a ban on sales of tour packages to Turkey, an important trade partner and the No. 1 destination for Russian tourists.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday called on Russian Federation for calm, but said Turkey’s patience is not unlimited.

“Our action there hasn’t been prompted by some abstract geopolitical interests or a desire to train and test new weapons systems, which is important too”, Putin said.