Russian military in Syria

Moscow warned Nicosia on Wednesday that increasing military cooperation with the US to counter Russian influence in the region will "inevitably lead to dangerous and destabilizing consequences for Cyprus itself", Kathimerini reported.

The Pentagon on Jan. 23 denied that it had coordinated air strikes with Russia in Syria, after Russia's Defense Ministry said the United States had provided coordinates for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Moscow on Friday that the army must "immediately destroy" all forces threatening Russian military in Syria.

The military operation in Syria is not dictated by geopolitical interests, but is designed to protect the country, said Putin, according to RT, and added that "terrorists in Syria are a direct threat to Russia."

More than 70 percent of Russians support Moscow's bombing campaign against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria but the danger of getting sucked into a protracted war is not lost on the public, a new poll showed Oct. 8.