A Saudi spokesman said on Friday that the regime’s foreign ministry had been "astonished by Russian criticism of Saudi Arabia for its support of the Syrian people," state-controlled Saudi Press Agency reported.

The spokesman for the autocratic Persian Gulf kingdom further blamed Russia’s persistent backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its use of its veto power at the UN Security Council for blocking of a “peaceful solution” to the crisis... “without hope of a settlement or of an end anytime soon to one of the most serious humanitarian crises of our time."

The development comes following a Tuesday statement by Russian, warning Saudi Arabia against supplying Syria insurgents with shoulder-launched missile launchers and arguing that the move would threaten security across the Middle East region and beyond.

The Russian foreign ministry further said it was "deeply concerned" by news reports that Saudi Arabia was planning to purchase Pakistani-built surface-to-air and anti-tank systems for the foreign-backed Syrian militants based in the Kingdom of Jordan.

"If this sensitive weapon falls into the hands of extremists and terrorists who have flooded Syria, there is a great probability that in the end it will be used far from the borders of this Middle Eastern country," the Russian ministry said.

The US-backed Saudi Arabia, along with some other despotic Arab kingdom in the Persian Gulf have persistently played key roles in pushing the destructive war in Syria, demonstrating their willingness to even cooperate with the Israeli regime to bring about their common objective of removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.

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