Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country would continue to provide assistance to Syria, including weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country would continue to provide assistance to Syria, including weapons.

During a press conference at the end of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Putin noted that the Group of Twenty leaders has been unable to achieve a convergence of positions on the Syrian crisis during the summit.

Putin stressed that the use of force against a sovereign state is prohibited by international law, and only allowed for self-defense or by a UN Security Council resolution, underlying that most of the summit participants expressed their rejection of any military operation against Damascus.

Putin considered that destabilizing the Middle East would be counterproductive, indicating that all the regional events are reflected on the global economy.

"In this difficult situation for the global economy as a whole, destabilizing the situation in the Middle East will lead to military results at least," he said.

The Russian president also stressed that the situation regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria is the result of provocation by the militants.

"I start from that everything happened on the alleged use of chemical weapons, is only a provocation by the militants who are hoping with the help of the countries backing them since the beginning. This is the goal of this provocation," Putin stated.

Moreover, he stressed Moscow's determination to continue to provide aid to Syria.

"Of course we will help Syrian," he said, recalling that Pope said in his last message that the start of a new series of military operations is unacceptable.

The Russian President also expressed beliefs that a military strike against Syria may block the settlement of the North Korean nuclear file.