Russia Supplying Arms to Syria

Russia is supplying weapons to Syria under a Soviet-era defense deal that intended for the arms to be used against foreign threats, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told an Egyptian paper. Lavrov said that Russia does not “side in any faction in Syria’s internal battle” and maintained that the weapons were not sent to help bolster the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad. Russia, along with China, has vetoed repeated efforts by the United Nations to condemn Assad for the violence that has left an estimated 32,000 of his citizens dead.