Moscow insists that a new UN resolution on Syria should not allow the use of force

Reuters reports that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is now saying that Moscow is ready to send troops to Syria to ensure the safety of United Nations chemical weapons inspectors.

He also said that Russia categorically opposes any UN resolution threatening force against Syria.

"They see in the US-Russian deal not a chance to save the planet from significant quantities of chemical weapons in Syria, but as a chance to do what Russia and China will notallow, namely to push through a resolution involving (the threat of) force against the regime and shielding the opposition," Interfax news agency cited Lavrov as saying.

Russia has used its veto to block Western efforts to use the UN Security Council's clout to pressure Assad's government.

Earlier Moscow accused the US of blackmail over the UN resolution against Syria and said the West is now "blinded" by its "ideological goal of regime change".