Russian leaders under fire for a UN veto Wednesday rejected outside interference in the Syrian situation.

Russian leaders under fire for a UN veto Wednesday rejected outside interference in the Syrian situation, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warning against behaving "like a bull in a china shop."

"Of course we condemn violence from whichever side it comes, but we must not behave like a bull in a china shop. We need to allow people to decide their own fate independently," Putin said in televised remarks.

The Russian strongman, who is standing for a third presidential term on March 4, spoke after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for talks in Damascus on Tuesday.

Talking to religious leaders during his presidential campaign, Putin warned that intervention in Syria could lead to a situation similar to that in Libya after the overthrow of its leader Moamar Gaddafi.

"No doubt we should give the peoples of these countries an opportunity to decide these problems independently," he was quoted as saying, referring to both Syria and Libya.

"Our task is to help them do it without any outside interference," he said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev later Wednesday urged further efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, including at the United Nations Security Council.

Medvedev stressed "the necessity of continuing -- including at the UN Security Council -- a search for coordinated approaches to help the Syrians regulate the crisis themselves" , the Kremlin said in a statement.

In a phone call with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Medvedv said that the crisis must be resolved "without outside interference, with complete respect for the sovereignty of Syria," the Kremlin said.

Russia last week used its veto at the Security Council to block UN action on Syria, a decision that Medvedev described as justified, arguing the resolution would not have promoted a peaceful conclusion to the conflict.

Russia's top diplomat Lavrov at a news conference earlier Wednesday after his return to Moscow from his talks in Damascus pointedly sidestepped a question from a reporter who asked him whether Russia had asked Assad to go.

"Any outcome of national dialogue should be the result of agreement between the Syrians themselves and should be acceptable to all Syrians," Lavrov told journalists.

Lavrov, who was given a hero's welcome by Syrian people in Damascus, also said that recalling envoys from Damascus would not help the Arab League's plan.

Lavrov defended Russia's decision to reject the latest draft resolution, saying Moscow had prevented opposition armed units from taking control of more cities in Syria.