Moscow: Russia said on Tuesday that a US decision to ease some restrictions on arming Syrian rebels had opened the way for deliveries of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, a move it said would directly threaten Russian forces in Syria.

Moscow last year launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria to help President Bashar Al Assad and government forces in a conflict with rebels, some of whom are supported by the United States.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the policy change easing some restrictions on weapons supplies to rebels was set out in a new US defence spending bill and that Moscow regarded the step as a hostile act.

US President Barack Obama signed the annual defence policy bill into law last week.

“In the administration of B. Obama they must understand that any weapons handed over will quickly end up in the hands of jihadists with whom the sham ‘moderate’ opposition have long acted jointly,” Zakharova said in a statement.

“Such a decision is a direct threat to the Russian air force, to other Russian military personnel, and to our embassy in Syria, which has come under fire more than once. We therefore view the step as a hostile one.” Zakharova accused the Obama administration of trying to “put a mine” under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump by attempting to get it to continue what she called Washington’s “anti-Russian line”.

During his election campaign, Trump said he was keen to try to improve relations with Moscow and spoke positively about President Vladimir Putin’s leadership skills.

A back-and-forth exchange between Trump and Putin over nuclear weapons last week tested the Republican’s promises to improve relations with Russia.

The Obama administration and US intelligence officials have accused Russia of trying to interfere with the US election by hacking Democratic Party accounts.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that the Syrian government was holding talks with the opposition ahead of possible peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Interfax news agency reported.

Lavrov did not say where the current talks were being held and it was unclear which opposition groups were taking part.

The High Negotiations Committee, a body grouping armed and political opponents of Al Assad, said it had no knowledge of the negotiations.

The HNC includes armed groups fighting Al Assad under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, and took part in a failed bid to launch peace talks earlier this year.

Russia, Iran and Turkey said last week they were ready to help broker a peace deal after holding talks in Moscow where they adopted a declaration setting out the principles any agreement should adhere to.

Putin has said that all three countries and Al Assad had agreed that the Kazakh capital should be the venue for new talks.

Lavrov spoke to his Turkish counterpart by telephone on Tuesday and they agreed to push for a ceasefire and to prepare for the Astana talks, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The RIA news agency cited an unnamed diplomatic source as saying that representatives from the Russian and Turkish militaries were holding consultations with the Syrian opposition in Ankara about how a possible nationwide ceasefire might work.

The foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey agreed in a telephone conversation on Tuesday to push for a ceasefire in Syria and to prepare for possible peace talks planned in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

During the conversation “the importance was stressed of a rapid completion of agreements on practical parameters to end military actions ]in Syria], the separation of the moderate opposition from terrorist groups, and preparations for the meeting in Astana”, the statement said.