In an update on Russian operations, Mr Putin said the military was now supporting Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces – which are fighting President Assad and have been bombed by Russia. “In addition… we are supporting them (the FSA) from the air as well as the Syrian army, assisting them with weapons, munition and material”.
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His statement appeared to be the first time Moscow said it was actually supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents in the fight against Islamic State forces.
Putin said the Russian military action in Syria is essential for protecting Russia from extremists based there, adding that fending off that threat is the main goal of the air campaign Russia launched on September 30.
In a speech to his top military commanders, Putin said the Russian military has provided weapons, supplies and air support to the Western-backed opposition group. “Any targets threatening Russia’s (military) group or our land infrastructure must be immediately destroyed”, Putin told the generals.
In this regard, he said additional measures have been adopted to guarantee the security of the troops and the bases in the Arab country with new means of antiaircraft defense and the coverage of flights by combat fighter planes.
Last month, Turkey shot down a Russian jet on the Syrian border, claiming it violated Turkish airspace.
“If you ask me whether the meeting [of Kerry] with Putin will take place, I will repeat once again that we do not rule out the possibility of such a meeting”, the state-run TASS news agency cited Peskov as saying on December 11.
Turkey said the bomber had entered its airspace, something denied by Russian Federation.
“They will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a political transition in Syria and related efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL”, said State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner, referring to the Islamic State. “If we are not responding to all that they have done until now, it is not because we are afraid or because of any psychology of guilt”, Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told NTV television.
“Our actions [in Syria] are not dictated by some abstract vague geopolitical interests”, Putin said.
Kerry also plans to raise with Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov the situation in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists and the government in Kiev are butting up against a self-imposed year-end deadline to end the fighting, Toner said.
Russia’s ambitious arms modernization program has continued at full pace this year, even though low oil prices and Western sanctions drove the economy into recession this year.
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He added the navy received two new nuclear-powered submarines equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles, two general-purpose submarines and eight surface warships this year.
