Russia on Saturday slammed Western countries for attempts to "flirt" with Islamist rebels in Syria. "There is bewilderment in Moscow about attempts by some of our foreign partners who are fond of insisting on the observance of human rights in all corners of the world to flirt with Islamist groups in Syria, trying to represent some of them as 'moderate' forces opposing the 'regime of Bashar al-Assad," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
