Boris Johnson has said he is not worried about Donald Trump's admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Discussing Syria's brutal civil war, which has raged for nearly six years, the foreign secretary said he hoped Mr Putin and "the puppets he supports" should make a deal to remove President Bashar al-Assad from power.

He told the Andrew Marr Show that Britain "has been at the forefront of applying that ligature of sanctions" against Russia for its role in the civil war, where it has been supporting Mr Assad's ferocious assault on Aleppo.

Mr Johnson said he was not concerned about Mr Trump's friendship and admiration for Mr Putin when asked by Mr Marr.

In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Show all 19 1 /19 In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

"As I've said before, I think it's very important to be as positive as we possibly can about our relations with the administration-to-be," the foreign secretary said. "And actually so far the contacts have been extremely productive."

Pushed to answer further, Mr Johnson added: "The answer is no, because I don't believe that in the end that it will significantly affect our relations with Washington.

"What we will see is an understanding by the US administration that the scene there in the Middle East is very complex. You've got Iran, you've got Russia, you've got a congress in America that is, certainly on the Republican side, very sceptical to put it mildly about both Russia and Iran. And so I think there will be a confluence of thinking about that.

He added: "And don't forget the relationship between the UK and the US is the paramount political fact of the last hundred years."

Boris Johnson: Trump election 'a moment of opportunity' for Britain

Last week, Mr Putin struck an unusually conciliatory tone in his annual state of the nation address when he said he is "ready to cooperate" with the Trump administration.

“We don't want confrontation with anyone. We don't need it. We are not seeking and have never sought enemies. We need friends,” Mr Putin told Russia's political elite.

“We are ready to cooperate with the new US administration. We have a shared responsibility to ensure international security.”

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Last Friday, Mr Johnson used his first major speech as Foreign Secretary to highlight how the UK can align with Mr Trump's incoming administration.

Mr Trump has suggested he could halt support for rebels in Syria and instead switch support to Mr Putin and the regime of Mr Assad.

Mr Johnson said: "Britain is prepared to be tough with Russia, but that does not mean that it is not also sensible to talk."

He added: "We cannot normalise relations with Russia or go back to ‘business as usual’.