Special to WorldTribune.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin said U.S. President Barack Obama’s strategy to counter Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in Iraq has been “lamentable” and resulted in “tragic” consequences.

“The United States supports Iraq, supports … the army. With two or three strikes ISIL has captured so many arms … (that) now ISIL is armed better than the Iraqi army. And all this is happening with the support of the United States,” Putin said.

And, despite pressure from the U.S., Putin pledged full support for President Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria. The U.S. has supported rebels seeking to oust Assad and trained moderated Syrian opposition groups to fight ISIL.

“Our fear is that Syria could plunge into the same situation as Libya and Iraq,” Putin said. “We don’t want that … in Syria.”

Putin added that Russia would not call on Assad to step down but urged the Syrian leader to work with a “healthy” opposition on political reforms.

“We are ready to work with the president to ensure a path towards political transition so as to … move away from an armed confrontation. But that should not be done with the use of force from the outside,” Putin said.

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi said he expects Assad’s regime to fall “at any moment,” according to a report in Lebanon’s Al-Mustaqbal newspaper.

The report said that Sisi told Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam at a meeting in Cairo last week that Lebanon should prepare for the eventuality of Assad being ousted.

  Abdul Fatah Sisi, Barack Obama, ISIL, Putin vows to save Syria from ‘tragic’ fate of U.S.-supported Iraq, Vladimir Putin, WorldTribune.com