Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev rejected accusations that his country's forces have bombed civilians in Syria, saying this was "just not true".

"There is no evidence of our bombing civilians, even though everyone is accusing us of this," Medvedev told a security conference in Munich, moments after French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Russian bombing of civilians must stop.

"Russia is not trying to achieve some secret goals in Syria. We are simply trying to protect our national interests," he said, adding that Moscow wanted to prevent militant extremists getting to Russia.

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