Turkey disappointed over Russia's continued support for Assad

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his disappointment over Russia's continuation to provide support for the Syrian regime at the same time denying that his country was arming the opposition Free Syrian Army. Erdogan said in a television interview with Star TV Channel that while Russia must stand silent about the massacres committed in Syria, it chose to stand by the Syrian regime which is committing these massacres." He believed that Russian political and military support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will prolong the Syrian crisis and exacerbate the tragic humanitarian situation in Syria and warned that the continuation of this crisis threatens the stability and security in the region. He pointed to talks he held in Moscow with Russian officials last July which focused on persuading the Russian side to stop Russian support for Syria, pointing out that during these talks differences emerged between Turkey and Russia on the Syrian crisis.