Putin rejects supplying arms to Syrian opposition

Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russian supplies of weapons to Syria are legal, while supplying arms to "rebels fighting the authorities contradicts international norms and laws." First of all, there are no bans on arms supplies to incumbent legitimate governments. Secondly, only recently the opposition received 3.5 tons of arms and ammunition through airports near Syria, he was quoted by local media as saying. There are international legal norms stating that it is inadmissible to supply arms to armed groups that strive to destabilize the situation in a certain country with the use of weapons, he added. Putin also said that French President Francois Hollande, who visited Moscow last month, has interesting ideas on how to solve the ongoing conflict in Syria, and Russia is ready to support them.