Russia will not sit idly by as jihadists press Iraq assault

06-28-2014 • AFP

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in Damascus on Saturday that his country "will not remain passive" as jihadists push an offensive in Syria's neighbour Iraq.

"Russia will not remain passive to the attempts by some groups to spread terrorism in the region," Ryabkov told journalists after meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.

Sunni militants, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) which is active in both Syria and Iraq, have seized vast terr ..