Washington has reiterated that Russia’s military backing for the Syrian government risks escalating the four-and-a-half-year, multi-front conflict, which has claimed more than 240,000 lives.
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The United States and Russian Federation have renewed high-level military contacts to discuss mechanisms in order to avoid accidental encounters between their forces in Syria, the Pentagon says.
The Defense Department described the conversation as constructive, noting that Carter and Shoygu discussed areas where the USA and Russia’s perspectives overlap and areas of divergence.
Lebanese sources familiar with military and political developments in Syria have also previously told Reuters that Russians are taking part in military operations in the country. The USA 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.
The U.S. and a number of its allies are flying strike missions into Syrian air space and they don’t want to have any misunderstandings with Russia’s forces there.
Russian Federation supports Assad’s government, while the United States has said Assad’s presence is fueling the 4-1/2 year civil war in Syria.
But though the administration has long said that President Bashar Assad must go for there to be a durable solution to the Syria crisis, Kerry seemed on Friday to allow for the possibility that Assad might remain in power in the short term.
Several Western countries which blame Assad heavily for the political unrest in Syria have been highly critical of Russia’s support for him.
Russian Federation is trying to convince the West of the need to work with Syria in the fight against ISIL.
A US intelligence official said Russia’s moves in Syria reflect growing alarm about Assad’s ability to weather opposition gains and suggests that Moscow may be willing to intervene directly on his behalf. “This is due to the expansion of Islamic State in the region”, he said.
The White House yesterday said it was open to limited talks with Russian Federation following Moscow’s deployment of troops and heavy weapons to war-torn Syria.
“If Russian Federation is only focused only on ISIL and if there is a capacity for cooperation… there still is a way to get a political negotiation and outcome”, he said.
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Russian Federation has said it will continue providing military supplies to Syria and that its assistance to the Syrian army is in line with worldwide law.
