Lavrov: Russia won't stop Syria strikes until "terrorists" defeated

MUSCAT: Russia will not stop its air strikes on Syria until armed groups, such as al Qaeda's wing there, are defeated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"Russian strikes will not cease until we really defeat terrorist organisations. And I don't see why these air strikes should be stopped," he said at a news conference in Oman's capital Muscat.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia should stop bombing opposition forces in Syria now that U.N.-led peace talks aimed at ending the war have started.