Russia Defends Syrian Air Strikes

Russian officials vehemently defended the country’s airstrikes in Syria on Thursday as blows to Islamic State militants even as evidence mounted suggesting that U.S.-backed rebels and others were facing the brunt of Moscow’s attacks.

While Russian officials and diplomats rallied behind President Vladi­mir Putin, the Kremlin’s stance appeared further clouded by acknowledgments that the missions have already extended beyond solely the Islamic State.

Russia’s foreign minister, meanwhile, says that the first military contact between his country and the United States on Russia’s airstrikes in Syria will happen “very, very soon.

ABC’s Tom Rivers joined us from London to discuss.