The Russian Defense Ministry has said some of its bombers have struck militant targets inside Syria, after they were deployed to an air base in neighboring Iran.
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It was the first time Russian Federation has used the territory of another nation, apart from Syria itself, to launch such strikes since the Kremlin launched a bombing campaign to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in September previous year.
He said that the Russian side “informed us they were coming through” airspace that could potentially put them in proximity of the coalition air forces in Iraq and Syria, adding that the USA maintained safety of flight as those bombers passed through the area and toward their target and then flew back.
Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said the use of the airfield was a sign of the growing strategic alliance between Russian Federation and Iran.
USA officials said Russian Federation had talked about the possibility of flying planes out of Iran since late past year, but Moscow’s decision to do so on Tuesday came as a surprise.
Both Russia and Iran have become increasingly concerned about the most recent rebel offensive in Aleppo city, which made progress against regime forces in the south and east despite intense fighting in recent weeks.
Since 2012, HRW has documented the use of four different incendiary weapons in Syria, all manufactured by the former Soviet Union.
Hmeymim airbase, near Latakia, that has been the headquarters of the Russian aircraft since October previous year was unable to accommodate the large (34m wingspan) Russian supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic bombers. The last time the Iranian state agreed to lend its air bases was in the Islamic revolution. The State Department’s spokesman, Mark Toner, described the move as an “unfortunate” turn of events.
Russian Federation has previously criticised U.S. reluctance to persuade Syrian opposition groups it supports to withdraw from areas controlled by Nusra.
Rights groups have claimed that Russia’s and Syria’s attacks have also strike civilian targets, including hospitals, schools, and homes. He said Russian representatives are “in a very active stage of talks with our American colleagues”.
Historians and U.S. officials said Tuesday the Iranian decision to let Russian Federation base its planes and support operations in Iran even temporarily was a historic one.
The United States had been targeting Islamic State militants in Syria with air strikes for almost two years.
An unnamed USA official, meanwhile, told the Associated Press that the two countries are still negotiating cooperation and are nowhere near an agreement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday discussed securing a ceasefire, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom -based war monitor, said heavy air strikes on Tuesday had hit many targets in and around Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, killing dozens.
“Since it is obvious that Western countries have no interest nor are they willing to resolve the Syrian crisis, Russia, Iran and Turkey are seen as the main actors in potentially ending the conflict in Syria”, analyst and journalist on Eurasian affairs, Eşref Yalınkılıçlı, said. It said a Russian Il-76 “Candid” transport plane also landed around the same time before both took off, suggesting the Su-34 may have suffered a mechanical issue.
The Russians are using the Iranian base as a “symbolic gesture” to demonstrate to the US that they’re “carrying out their plans militarily”, Rashad al-Kattan, a political and security risk analyst who’s a fellow at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said from London.
The Russian Defense Ministry says it strives to avoid civilian casualties.
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But until now, Russia’s long-range bombers, which require longer airstrips, had to be launched from Russian territory more than 1930km away.
