Russian military buildup in Syria gets little clarity from Sergey Lavrov

Russian aircraft flying into Syria are delivering military supplies and humanitarian aid, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday, but he shed no light on what the U.S. and NATO worry is a Russian military buildup at a Syrian airfield.

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Russia has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad throughout the country's 4½-year civil war, providing weapons and military experts to train Syria's army to use them.

Lavrov on Thursday once again confirmed that Russia has military personnel in Syria for training purposes, but said nothing about reported deployments of additional troops.

Asked about Russian planes flying to the airfield near the Syrian city of Latakia, Lavrov said they were carrying "military goods in accordance with existing contracts and humanitarian aid."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on whether Russian troops were engaged in combat in Syria.

"The threat coming from Islamic State is evident …. The only force capable of resisting it is the Syrian armed forces," Peskov said, reiterating a Russian position that its long-time ally Assad should be part of international efforts to combating the radical Islamic group.

Peskov said President Vladimir Putin would talk about Syria and ISIS when he delivers his speech at the UN General Assembly annual meeting due in New York later this month.

Bigger role not ruled out

Russia has cast the arms supplies to Assad's regime as part of international efforts to combat the Islamic State militant group.

Putin hasn't ruled out a bigger role in Syria. Asked last week if Russia could deploy its troops to Syria to help fight ISIS, he said Russia was "looking at various options," but it was too early to talk about it.

Putin is expected to focus on the situation in Syria when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly at the end of the month. By playing with the idea of joining the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS, Putin may hope to improve ties with the West, which have been damaged by the Ukrainian crisis.

But the U.S. and its allies have seen Assad as the cause of the Syrian crisis, and Washington has warned Moscow against beefing up its presence.