“If there is any request, then it would naturally be discussed and evaluated through bilateral contacts and dialogue,” spokesman for the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov said Friday, adding, however, that “It is difficult to talk about this hypothetically.”
A day earlier, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem had said Damascus would ask for the deployment of Russian forces to Syria if need be.
“There is no joint fighting on the ground with Russian troops, but if we felt such a need, we would study it and demand,” Muallem said.
He, however, said the Syrian army and volunteer forces are still capable of fighting militants without foreign assistance.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied recent claims by the United States and its allies that Russia has boots on the ground in Syria.