Russia's foreign minister has defended Russia's military operations in Syria after it came under international criticism during a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Sergey Lavrov said the goal of the Russian military operation was in response to the request of President Bashar al-Assad and on the basis of the decision granted by the Russian parliament with the Russian president and in accordance with the Russian constitution.
Russian warplanes backing Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad bombed rebel groups for a second day Thursday as reports suggested Iran is sending combat troops to support the embattled regime in Damascus.
