Obama Administration blasts Russia over weapons shipments to Syria

The Obama Administration said Moscow is supplying Damascus with attack helicopters, a move likely to intensify the conflict between the Syrian government and opposition fighters, the Wall Street Journal reports.

A shipment of attack helicopters is "on the way from Russia to Syria, which will escalate the conflict quite dramatically," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday at a forum in Washington.

The accusation heightens pressure on the Syrian regime’s staunchest international backer. It came as the United Nations said government forces had used helicopters in recent attacks on the people, and Syrian opposition members have described the conflict in the language of civil war.

Moscow has defended its weapons sales to Syria, saying Damascus is buying its weapons for self-defense.