MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that the Syrian government's investigation into the massacre in the region of Houla indicated it was a "well planned action by militants" intent on undermining peace efforts.
In a statement that suggested support for the government's conclusions, which a U.S. diplomat has called a "blatant lie", the Russian Foreign Ministry said the killings were the result of financial aid and illicit arms supplies to militants.
It said Russia was awaiting the results of a U.N.-mandated probe into the killing of 108 people, many of them children, which has led Western states to redouble calls for Moscow to press President Bashar al-Assad to abide by a ceasefire.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that both the government and its foes had a hand in the deaths, but the statement on Friday made no mention of government involvement and pointed the finger at rebels and unnamed foreign backers.
"The tragedy in Houla showed what financial aid and contraband supplies of modern weapons, the recruitment of foreign mercenaries and flirting with various extremists can lead to," the ministry said.
Separately, Syria's ambassador to Moscow said on Friday that Russia's position on Syria and its relationship with the government had not changed since the killings.
"Nothing has changed in our relations with Russia and it has not affected our relationship," Ambassador Riad Haddad said of the massacre, speaking through a translator.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Berlin on Friday that Russia was not providing the government with weapons that could be used in the conflict and was not backing any side.
(Editing by Nastassia Astrasheuskaya and Diana Abdallah)