Premature to talk about intervention against IS - Putin

Premature to talk about intervention against IS - Putin

"To say we're ready to do this today - so far it's premature to talk about this. But we are already giving Syria quite serious help with equipment and training soldiers, with our weapons," RIA Novosti quoted Putin as saying.

Putin, who was speaking during an international economic forum in Russian Far East city of Vladivostok,said that military supplies to Syria were fulfilling contracts "dating back five to seven years," and criticized U.S. airstrikes on IS as ineffective.

The White House on Thursday said it was "closely monitoring reports that Russia is carrying out military operations in Syria, warning such actions, if confirmed, would be destabilizing and counter-productive," AFP reported, and added that "the comments come after images appeared on a social media account linked to Syrian fighters purporting to show Russian aircraft and drones near Idlib province."

Speaking about the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe on Friday, the Russian leader said his country "frequently warned of major problems which Europe would face as a result of Western policies in the Middle East and North Africa and jihadist groups terrorizing people."

“I think the crisis was absolutely expected,” Putin told journalist in Vladivostok, RT reported.