Source: BBCNews
President Vladimir Putin has defended Russia's military operations in Syria, saying the aim is to "stabilise the legitimate authority" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia wants to "create conditions for a political compromise" in Syria, he told Russian state TV.
On Monday the EU's foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, called Russia's role "a game-changer". She said: "It has some very worrying elements."
EU ministers are discussing Syria now.
Going into the Luxembourg meeting, several foreign ministers stressed that air strikes should only target so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters and other Islamist "terrorists".
The US and UK governments have accused Russia of attacking mainly "moderate" anti-Assad groups, rather than the jihadists.
Mr Putin denied that that was the case. .
'Target IS'
"The interventions against Daesh (IS) have to be clearly against Daesh and other terrorist groups, as defined by the UN," Ms Mogherini stressed.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also said "the target is IS and nothing else".
Ms Mogherini said she was especially worried about recent violations of Turkish airspace by Russian jets.
Syrian forces are said to have made significant advances against rebels.
Government gains in Idlib, Hama and Latakia provinces were on Sunday reported both by the Syrian government and opposition activists.
The main battlefront is currently close to the key highway that links the capital with other major cities, including Aleppo. Mr Assad's forces are believed to be seeking to cut off rebels in Idlib.
Russia's security services said on Monday they had arrested a group of Russian citizens with links to IS.
The FSB security agency said in a statement that some of those detained had been through IS training camps in Syria and were suspected of planning a terror attack.
Explosives and bomb-making equipment were found at an address in Moscow used by the suspects, the agency said.