Syria will not hesitate to ask Russia to send troops to fight for Assad government: Foreign minister

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Thursday that his country would ask help from Russia if the Syrian army needed Russian troops to fight for the Syrian government.

Muallem said his government would welcome political settlements proposed by either Iran or Russia, adding that Syria would not hesitate to ask help from Kremlin.

"There is no joint fighting on the ground with Russian troops, but if we felt such a need, we would study it and demand," TASS quoted Muallem as saying. "So far the Syrian army is able (on its own) and what we need frankly is more of the ammunition and qualitative weapons to face the type of qualitative weapons of these terrorist groups."

Muallem’s take on Russia’s help goes in line with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s remark last week when he said Russia would help Syria if there was need for it.

“If required, we’ll be taking these steps in full compliance with our legislation, international law and our international obligations and, of course, exclusively at the request and with the consent of the Syrian government or other countries in the region, if the talk is about assistance or the struggle against terrorism," the Russian foreign minister said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian military has reportedly started using new weapons supplied by Russia. A Syrian military source told Reuters the weapons included “all types of weapons, be it air or ground." The source added the weapons were precise in hitting targets as those were “highly effective and very accurate.”

According to Washington, Russia has been carrying out significant military build-up in Syria. The U.S. administration which wants Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to be ousted has been highly critical about Russia’s support for the Assad regime.

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