Grybauskaite advisor: Kremlin aims to support Assad

According to Renaldas Vaisbrodas, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite’s advisor on foreign policy, Russia’s decision to begin military operations is a sign the Kremlin wants to support the regime of Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad.

Vaisbrodas’ claims are contrary to the Kremlin’s original line, that it is there to fight Islamic State jihadists.

"We can clearly identify Russia's goals in Syria,” Vaisbroads told Ziniu Radias on October 6, 2015. “Russia has come to Syria not to fight the Islamic State, but support the Assad regime. 

“These goals conflict with those of the anti-Islamic State coalition, which is also backed by Lithuania.

“[Because] it’s hard and almost impossible to see Syria with the existing regime that has blood on its hands.

Vaisbrodas believes the greatest concern for the West and NATO, is Russia's attempt to save Assad and "how far Russia is ready to go in its pursuit to save the incumbent Syrian leader who has less than a quarter of the country's territory under his control."

"It seems that huge resources are being devoted and efforts are being made, but instead of resolving the Syrian problem and looking for a political way out for Syria, Russia is creating confrontation and instead of three players – Assad, the opposition and the Islamic State, it wants to avoid three players and have two – Assad and the Islamic State," he continued. 

During a meeting on October 5, ambassadors from 28 NATO countries expressed their concern over the ongoing buildup of Russian armed forces in Syria and their recent attacks that lead to the death of civilians as opposed to the originally designated Islamic State targets. 

Russia launched air strikes in Syria on September 30. aimed at supporting Assad.