Kremlin: Russia, allies not responsible for situation in Syria's Ghouta

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia was not responsible for the situation in the opposition-held district of eastern Ghouta outside the Syrian capital Damascus.

"Those who support the terrorists are responsible," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. "Neither Russia, nor Syria, nor Iran are in that category of states as they are waging an absolute war against terrorists in Syria."

Warplanes pounded eastern Ghouta for a fifth straight day on Thursday, as the United Nations pleaded for a halt to one of the fiercest air assaults of the seven-year civil war.