Putin reaffirms Russia's support for Syria's Assad
 

(Adds quotes, detail) ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 19 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Russia's support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad on Friday and said he opposed any use of external force to try to end the Syrian civil war. Putin showed ** sign of wavering in his policy of trying to shield Assad from pressure from the West in a 4 1/2-year-old conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions. "Our fear is that Syria could plunge into the same situation as Libya and Iraq," Putin said in response to questions at Russia's annual eco**mic forum in St Petersburg.

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