Russia vows continued support for Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised continued military, political and economic support for Syria, a Syrian minister said on Monday.

"I have obtained a promise from President Putin on a Russian military, economic and political support to Syria," Xinhua quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem as saying in Moscow at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

Al-Moallem said the Russian leader stressed the need to found a regional alliance to fight terrorism.

Lavrov stressed that Moscow would keep supporting Syria by all means to enable it to put an end to terrorism, calling on countries in the region to put aside their differences and work together to battle rampant terrorism.

The Russian minister highlighted the risk of some countries in the region using extremist groups as tools to achieve temporary gains.

Al-Moallem said his visit to Moscow was aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis.