It came after Moscow began launching air attacks on IS last week, since September 30.
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But its planes have also bombed other rebel groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Moscow’s ally. But the strikes appear to have given Assad new confidence to try to retake a few lost ground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Obama has branded Russian air strikes “a recipe for disaster” and warned Moscow it may end up in a “quagmire” if it continues to get more involved in the Middle East conflict.
On Wednesday, Russian Federation said it had launched missile strikes against IS from warships in the Caspian Sea – about 1,500km (930 miles) away.
Putin added that the strikes “destroyed all the planned targets”, which he attributed to “the good preparation and the enterprises of the military-industrial complex and the good training of the personnel”.
The United States, Carter said, is not prepared to cooperate with a strategy of Russia’s that is “tragically flawed”.
The head of the observatory, Rami Abdulrahman, said ground attacks by Syrian government forces and their militia allies using heavy surface-to-surface missile bombardments hit at least four insurgent positions and there were heavy clashes.
Prior to the Russian participation, the US has acknowledged its plan to field a force of moderate rebels to fight the Islamic State’s problems.
The rebel group’s commander, Maj.
Jaish al-Fatah, or the Army of Conquest, a coalition of rebel and militant groups that includes the Nusra Front, operates in the area.
A military source in Hama said that “the Syrian army in its latest operations is working on cutting off the southern parts of Idlib province from the northern parts of Hama province”.
The prime minister told reporters on Wednesday there would be no concession on violations of the country’s airspace by Russian fighter jets.
The Observatory said two helicopters believed to be Russian were seen flying at low altitude in Morek. According to them they carried out the strikes in the areas where Islamic State (IS) had little or no presence. Cameron has called Russian bombing of Syrian opposition groups other than IS a “retrograde step”.
The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that its main aim is to drive back the Islamic State in Syria.
But Russian Federation has insisted that poor weather was to blame for the incursion.
Russian Federation and Turkey have in recent years sought to step up cooperation, agreeing to build a new gas pipeline beneath the Black Sea and Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, while targeting $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2023.
Davatoglu called on Russian Federation to respect Turkey’s air space, saying the country would not “make any concessions” on matters concerning its border security.
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Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member that shares a border with Syria, has already accused Russian Federation of violating its airspace. Turkey scrambled F-16s in response and also summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest.
