Russia will not ask the Syrian regime to halt air raids on the war-ravaged city of Aleppo, because it believes they are helping to combat jihadist groups, Moscow's foreign ministry said Saturday.

"No, we are not going to put pressure on (Damascus) because one must understand that the situation in Aleppo is part of this fight against the terrorist threat," Foreign deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov told the Interfax news agency.