A senior member of Russia’s parliament Duma says an ongoing air campaign by Moscow against militants operating in Syria is going to intensify.

Alexei Pushkov, who serves as the chairman of the Committee for International Affairs at the Russian State Duma (the lower house of the parliament), said Friday that Moscow will be intensifying its attacks against the militants in Syria while studying the risks associated with an extensive operation.

“There is always a risk of being bogged down, but in Moscow, we are talking about an operation of three to four months,” Alexei Pushkov said, Reuters reported.

No such thing as a ‘moderate’ terrorist

The Russian strikes have drawn criticism from Western governments and their allies in the Middle East, which have been supporting the militants operating in the region.

In a post on his twitter account on Friday, Pushkov had criticized the opponents of Russian airstrikes in Syria and rejected the Western practice of distinguishing between different militants operating in the Arab country.

“The moderate opposition is largely a myth invented by the United States. Its fighters are not fighting with ISIS, they have gone to al-Qaeda, and fired at the Russian embassy. Is that moderation?” wrote Pushkov; Press TV reported.