Putin: Russia does not supply Syria with arms against protesters

Russia is not supplying arms to Syria which can be used against
protesters, Russian President Vladmir Putin said on Friday,
RIA-Novosti reports.

Human Rights First, an American advocacy group, told UN journalists on
Thursday that a Russian ship allegedly carrying weapons arrived at the
Syrian port of Tartus, which hosts a Russian naval base, at the
weekend.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice reacted to this news by
saying that the issue was “of the utmost concern.”

"It is not technically obviously a violation of international law
since there's not an arms embargo. But it's reprehensible that arms
would continue to flow to a regime that is using such horrific and
disproportionate force against its own people," RIA-Novosti quotes
Susan Rice.

Syria is one of Russia’s major weapons clients, and Moscow has opposed
a proposal for a UN arms embargo on Damascus.