No volunteers recruited in Russia to fight in Syria - Russian foreign ministry

MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. No one is recruiting Russian volunteers to serve in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday. "There is no information on that matter. I can repeat it officially once again: there are no official campaigns on participation in ground operations," she said. "No one officially recruits any volunteers. I think it just about somebody saying something in improper terms or somebody misinterpreting something." "Of course, there are a lot of public figures, politicians and lawmakers in Russia who have their own opinion and who have the right to express it," the Russian diplomat went on to say. "We provide comments on our official position and it has just one interpretation: there are no and can be no ground operations, there are no and can be no land troops. And the Russia leaders have said it officially." According to a number of media outlets, a land operation in Syria to back Russia’s air strikes against the terrorist group Islamic State may allegedly involve units recruited from among volunteers, including those who took part in combat operations in Ukraine’s Donbass. Russia’s aerospace forces launched pinpoint strikes against the Islamic State targets in Syria on September 30. The Russian air group in Syria comprises more than 50 warplanes and helicopters. According to Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, air strikes are delivered at military hardware, communications centres, transport vehicles, munitions depots and other terrorist infrastructure facilities. The military operation is conducted at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Read more