RUSSIAN Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov declared his country “will not stand idle toward attempts by terrorist groups to spread terrorism in regional states,” during a speech in Damascus at the weekend.

Mr Ryabkov urged the EU and US towards united action against terrorism by “taking integral measures against radicalism and by searching for a solution to prevent the influx of fighters from abroad.”

The Russian diplomat warned that the rapid military progress enjoyed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) forces in Iraq would have “catastrophic repercussions” on the entire region.

Mr Ryabkov praised the “responsible” decision by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to give up its chemical weapons, having held talks on Saturday with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and his deputy, Faisal Mekdad.

He stressed that doing so had boosted Syria’s security.

Damascus finished handing over 1,300 tons of chemical weapons it acknowledged possessing last Monday, completing a deal reached last autumn.

Hours after Mr Ryabkov’s warning, a car bomb exploded in a busy market in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma, killing at least two boys and wounding dozens as Muslims went shopping prior to the start of their holy month of Ramadan.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights blamed Isis for the bombing. 

The group is trying to dislodge other rebels from the area, including official al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.

Heavy fighting between various rebel groups also took place in Boukamal on the border with Iraq on Saturday, where surrounded Nusra fighters defected to Isis last week.