German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned Russia against involvement aimed at prolonging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's hold on power.
"I hope that Russia is not banking on a prolongation of the Syrian civil war," Steinmeier told newspapers of the Funke group of regional newspapers on Saturday.
"A situation must not be created that renders joint action by the international community impossible," he said, adding that there should be an end to independent meddling in Syria.
This week the US expressed concern about media reports that Russia might be sending servicemen to Syria as part of a military build-up to support al-Assad's regime.
But Russia rejected those concerns, saying its servicemen had been in the country for many years to help with the military equipment that Moscow provides to the al-Assad government.
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