The US military acknowledged this week that only four or five of an initial class of some 60 U.S.-trained Syrian rebels were still on the battlefield, following a disastrous debut after they came under attack from al Qaeda’s Syria wing.
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Russian Federation on Thursday strongly urged the United States and its allies to engage the Syrian government as a “partner” in the fight against the Islamic State group, and offered to share any information about its military supplies to Damascus with Washington.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has blamed the European countries for the crisis of the Syrian refugees.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest, without commenting on specific consultations, said the Obama administration “would welcome constructive Russian support for the efforts of the anti-ISIL coalition in Iraq and in Syria“.
The satellite imagery provided by AllSource Analysis, a commercial satellite intelligence firm, confirmed a buildup in Latakia. The equipment apparently arrived between September 4 and 15.
The airport, named after the president’s brother, who died in a vehicle accident in 1994, lies about 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Latakia city.
The images also show the deployment of trucks, and multiple Russian transport aircraft.
The strikes hit close to at least four Islamic State offices, including one used by its self-appointed religious police force, said an activist in Raqqa who was contacted via the Internet and declined to be named for security reasons. They wouldn’t provide any numbers or other details.
Washington, he said, would also seek a “complete and clear understanding as to the road ahead and what the intentions are”, but he had no new talks date to announce.
The Syrian military has recently started using new types of air and ground weapons supplied by Russia, a Syrian military source said on Thursday, underlining growing Russian support for Damascus that is alarming the United States.
“The Russians proposed in a conversation I had today, and in the last conversation specifically, that we have a military-to-military conversation and meeting”, Kerry said. He said Syria will not hesitate to ask for Russia’s help in the future if it is needed. “Secretary Kerry made clear that Russia’s continued support for President Assad risks exacerbating and extending the conflict, and undermining our shared goal of fighting extremism”, the State Department stated. He did not elaborate. On Saturday, Kerry called Lavrov and warned that Washington is deeply concerned of reports of “an imminent enhanced Russian military buildup”.
Military dialogue between Russian Federation and the United States had been suspended since 2014, following Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine.
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A Pentagon official said the U.S. military has no immediate plans to reopen ties but that “senior leaders continue to have the discretion to communicate with their counterparts as necessary”.
