@Ophir Gold definitely going upwards. Vladimir Putin says Russia...

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Gold definitely going upwards.

Vladimir Putin says Russia won't give in to 'blackmail' over Syria

President Vladimir Putin vowed that Russia won't give in to "blackmail and pressure" over its military offensive in Syria and accused the US and its allies of whipping up "anti-Russian hysteria".

A French-proposed UN Security Council resolution on Syria, which demanded an immediate halt to the bombing of Aleppo, was set up to provoke Russia's veto and worsen the situation, Mr Putin said at an investor forum in Moscow. By sponsoring the proposal, France has served US domestic needs, Mr Putin added.

From the breakdown in Syrian talks to US charges that Russia is actively hacking political groups to undermine the November 8 presidential election, Russian-US ties have deteriorated in recent months. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Moscow was backing a "puppet government" in Syria and Russia "has a rather sordid record when it comes to basic human rights".

Over the past 10 days, Moscow has increased its military presence in the Mediterranean and Baltic regions by deploying warships and missiles that can be fitted with nuclear warheads, and suspended a nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Russia on Wednesday test-fired three missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Anti-Russian rhetoric

Mr Putin on Wednesday accused the US presidential candidates of using anti-Russian rhetoric to bolster their support in next month's election, a decision which is "poisoning" relations between the two countries. At the same time, he reiterated that Russia was willing to work with any US leader who is willing to cooperate with it.

The Russian leader on Tuesday cancelled a visit to Paris after his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, scolded the Kremlin over its bombing campaign in Syria. Russia last week vetoed a UN Security Council resolution proposed by France that required a stop to Russian and Syrian airstrikes in Aleppo, where about 250,000 civilians are trapped. Russia and the West have blamed each other for the breakdown of a ceasefire agreement in the Middle Eastern country, where at least 280,000 people have died since 2011.

Efforts by al-Qaeda fighters and allied rebels in Aleppo to use civilians as "human shields" can't be tolerated, and Russia will pursue its military drive to help Syria capture the eastern opposition-held neighbourhoods, Mr Putin said in an interview with French TV.

France proposed its resolution "to get this veto" in order "to escalate the situation and whip up anti-Russian hysteria" in the midst of the US presidential campaign, Mr Putin said. "This is a type of behaviour in the international arena which is called pressure and blackmail, which Russia has never given in to and won't."

Russia intervened a year ago in Syria with an air campaign that reversed the course of the five-year civil war, a conflict that helped spawn the rise of Islamic State and provoked the worst refugee crisis since World War II as millions of Syrians fled to neighbouring countries and Europe. The Russian move has bolstered President Bashar Al Assad against opposition groups, including US-backed rebels.

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