Vladimir Putin backed over Russian troops to Syria

That military presence in Syria could remain in place even if Mr Assad is eventually supplanted by a new government since Russian Federation would be a part of any transition talks.

Putin’s request comes after his bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, where the two were discussing Russia’s recent military buildup in Syria.

“Specific information will probably be shared with defense ministries as well”, Ivanov said.

A U.S. official told Reuters the United States believes Russia has sent four Sukhoi Su-34 “Fullback” fighter-bombers, its latest deployment of aircraft to a base near the Russian naval facility at Tartus on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

The report, published by the Russian online newspaper gazeta.ru on Friday, said that 20 soldiers, including officers and contracted soldiers, were selected from a military unit of Russia’s Eastern military district command and sent on a mission without being told about the final destination.

“Whatever we may or may not do, we are not talking about”, Mr Jubeir said.

Matviyenko added, “In this situation, we could not refuse Syrian President Bashar Assad and continue watching how people die, how women and children die, how historical and cultural sites are being destroyed”.

The upper chamber of Russian parliament earlier gave the green light to Mr Putin’s request to use Russian armed forces in Syria.

Russian Federation is set to deploy its military forces in Syria after President Vladimir Putin was granted unanimous support in parliament to destroy ISIS. He said the coalition can claim victory over the notorious organisation only if current Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad steps down. He said security-focused counterterrorism measures are crucial but stressed the need to go beyond, including making a special effort to reach young people.

“Russia will not participate in any troop operations in the territory of Syria or in any other states”.

The Russian government has also announced the creation of an “information centre” in Baghdad to co-ordinate anti-Isis operations with officers from Iran, Iraq, and Syria. “First, we will be supporting the Syrian army purely in its legitimate fight with terrorist groups”.