Russia: foreign ground troops would create 'long war' in Syria

Sending foreign troops into Syria will lead to a "a full-fledged, long war", Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned in an interview.

He spoke out after John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, said that more foreign troops could enter the conflict if attempts to reach a diplomatic solution fail.

The US has ruled out sending in ground troops - but Saudi Arabia this month offered to send ground forces to fight Islamic State.

Mr Medvedev hit back at Mr Kerry today in an interview with Euronews TV station, saying he should have held back his “futile words".

Major powers agreed on Friday to pause combat operations which have left at least 125,000 dead in the war-torn country.

• Russia: World has entered 'new Cold War' amid Syria tensions

Russia has been accused by its western allies of jeopardising peace in Syria by bombing the wrong targets as a recently agreed ceasefires hangs in the balance.

But Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has spoken during a security conference in Munich to deny that Russian forces are bombing civilians.

ITV Political Correspondent Paul Brand reports:

Philip Hammond appeared to be unimpressed with Russia's response to the accusations that the country's forces have bombed civilians, rolling his eyes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended his country's actions.

The Foreign Secretary shook his head and looked to the sky as Lavrov spoke at a security conference in Munich about how "moving closer to practical goals of truce" would not work without co-operation between military forces.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Russia of hitting legitimate opposition groups and civilians with its bombing campaign in Syria.

Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Mr Kerry said Moscow must change its targets in order to respect a ceasefire deal agreed on Friday.

He also said Moscow had been dropping so-called "dumb bombs" that do not have a precise target, leading to the killing of civilians.

Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev rejected claims Russia has bombed civilians in Syria, saying: "There is no evidence of our bombing civilians, even though everyone is accusing us of this."

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has called on Russia to stop bombing civilians in Syria, saying it is crucial for achieving peace in the country.

In a speech at a security conference in Munich, Mr Valls said: "France respects Russia and its interests ... But we know that to find the path to peace again, the Russian bombing of civilians has to stop".

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev rejected claims Russia has bombed civilians in Syria, saying there was "no evidence" to back the accusations.

Tensions between Russia and the West have plunged the world into a "new Cold War", Dmitry Medvedev has said.

The Russian Prime Minister said his country was "accused of making new horrible threats either against NATO as a whole, against Europe or against the US or other countries" on an almost daily basis.

Relations between Russia and the West have been strained by the Ukraine conflict and Russia's backing of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Mr Medvedev said: "We can say it even more clearly: We have slid into a new period of Cold War."

He said the US and Russia needed to cooperate regularly to resolve the crisis in Syria.

Mr Medvedev also rejected claims Russia has bombed civilians in Syria, saying there was "no evidence" to back the accusations.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has insisted Bashar al-Assad will not be ruling Syria in the future, and that Russian intervention in Assad's favour is in vain.

Adel al-Jubeir's comments come in an interview with the German newspaper newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, published on Saturday.

"It might take three months, it might take six months or three years - but he [Assad] will no longer carry responsibility for Syria. Period," al-Jubeir said.

Saudi Arabia has long said that the Syrian president must step down if Syria's conflict is to end.

The people of Aleppo in Syria are going to take some convincing that a truce will actually happen.

Much of the city is in ruins after five years of fighting and President Bashar al-Assad is making rapid ground with his Russian-backed assault.

Many continue to flee the war-torn country, for whom any ceasefire would come too late.

ITV News Middle East Correspondent Geraint Vincent reports:

The distribution of humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria could begin as soon as Saturday if aid workers can gain access to besieged areas, UN spokesperson Ahmad Fawzi has said.

World powers agreed to establish a "cessation" of hostilities within a week after marathon talks in Munich, though Russian bombing raids will continue.

Mr Fawzi said representatives of the nations that met in Germany will convene for an afternoon meeting in Geneva to continue to discuss the humanitarian issue, which could speed up action as aid workers await access to begin the distribution.

• Plan for partial Syria ceasefire agreed but Russian bombing continues