Share

Kerry to meet with Putin on Syria, Ukraine next week

Putin’s comments came during a meeting with Russian Defense Ministry officials.

Advertisement

He said the ministry of defense must coordinate its actions with Israeli command and the US-led anti-IS coalition.

“We support it from the air, as well as the Syrian army, we assist them with weapons, ammunition and provide material support”, Putin added.

The downing of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish military on the country’s border with Syria has inflamed tensions between the two nations with Russia signing a decree of sanctions against Turkey last month.

Turkey said it downed the Russian plane after it violated its airspace for 17 seconds despite repeated warnings, while Russia has insisted the plane had remained in Syrian airspace.

The Russian military should coordinate its actions with Israel and the U.S.-led coalition against Daesh, he said.

“I order you to act in an extremely tough way. The combined use of force from the Aerospace Forces and the Navy, the use of the newest precise systems of weaponry has allowed us to deliver serious damage to the infrastructure of terrorists, and has seriously changed the situation in Syria”, Putin reportedly said.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said it was up to the Syrian people to discuss the fate of president Bashar al-Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against staging new provocations against Russian forces in Syria.

“One needs to pay attention to strengthening strategic nuclear forces”, he added.

Russia responded on Thursday to the accusations made by Turkey on Wednesday that Russian airstrikes in Syria were aiming to achieve ethnic cleansing.

Putin spoke about Russia’s strategy to defend national security interests, about the support for Russian military men who take part in operations outside Russia, about the struggle against terrorists in Syria and against global terrorism on the whole.

In October, United States Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was quoted as saying that “more than 80% of the Russian bombs are unguided or “dumb” bombs”.

Moscow’s propaganda machinery trumpeted Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s confirmation of the strike as the first ever cruise missile Russian Federation launched from a submarine in combat. Anybody remotely familiar with the Syrian conflict would say that sounds like a scenario straight from cloud cuckoo land – but that’s what Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed was happening on Friday morning.

Advertisement

“Islamic State is extending its zones of influence”.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry