Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday called on world powers to help arm the Syrian army, neglecting the fact that Bashar Assad has been massacring his people for nearly five years now.
The U.S. and NATO have raised concerns over Russia’s military buildup in Syria since they see Bashar Assad as the cause of the Syrian crisis, which has claimed more than 250,000 lives over four years.
The increased Russian activity in Syria reflects Moscow’s deep concerns that its longtime ally is on the brink of collapse
Russia has been a longtime backer of Syria, and it has supported Assad throughout the civil war by shielding him from U.N. sanctions and providing weapons.
Putin is expected to focus on the situation in Syria when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly at the end of the month, and some analysts believe that Russia wants to have its military force in Syria ready for action by the time he speaks.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday used the Russian military buildup in Syria to lash out at the country’s arch-enemy, blaming the influx of refugees into Europe on Moscow’s support for Assad.
“Today the so-called little green men are landing in Syria, instigating an increase in violence in the Middle East, and provoking a further increase in the number of refugees going to the EU,” Poroshenko said at an international conference in Kiev. ’Little green men’ was the term widely applied to Russian forces in unmarked uniforms who overtook Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula before its annexation by Russia in March 2014.