Moscow says it will keep selling weapons to Damascus

A senior Russian government official says Moscow sees no reason for curtailing its military cooperation with Damascus despite calls from the West to stop arming Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said Tuesday that Russia will abide by existing contracts to deliver weapons to Syria.

He told reporters that Russia enjoys “good, strong military technical cooperation with Syria, and we see no reason to reconsider it.''

In January, a Russian ship allegedly carrying tons of munitions made a dash for Syria after telling officials in EU member Cyprus, where it had made an unexpected stop, that it was heading to Turkey.

Russia has shielded Syria from the UN sanctions over Assad's yearlong crackdown on the opposition in which over 7,500 people have been killed.

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