Carter said Russia’s entry into the conflict had fueled violence in the country and called on Moscow to use its influence over Assad to end the conflict.
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Carter even played up the dubious allegations of Russian Federation trying to “hack the election”, even though the comments come just a couple of days after intelligence officials were conceding that there was no real evidence to support these claims, insisting the USA would not tolerate Russia’s “attempts to interfere with our democratic processes”.
But it is also noteworthy because Carter was venturing, even if obliquely, without referencing a particular candidate, where most defense secretaries have not: election-year politics.
He was responding in a BBC radio interview to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments earlier this week that a joint U.S.
The Pentagon chief urged Moscow to work with Washington toward a political transition in Syria, though he sounded less than optimistic.
“Russia appears driven by misguided ambition and misplaced fear”, Carter said in a speech to students at Oxford University.
“It lashes out, alleging that it fears for its own viability and future, even though no nation – not the United States, not the United Kingdom – seeks to defeat it or constrain its potential”, he said. “But make no mistake – we will defend our allies, the principled global order, and the positive future it affords all of us”, Carter said in an address to students at Oxford University.
He also warned Moscow that Washington “will not ignore attempts to interfere with our democratic processes”, a clear reference to the FBI investigation into allegations that Russian Federation hacked into computer systems of the Democratic National Committee.
Carter is due to meet Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman during his trip to the UK.
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“The secretary affirmed his support for the long-term strategic partnership between the United States and Turkey and vowed the United States would continue to stand side-by-side with Turkey against shared threats”, Cook said in a statement.
