US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter gives a joint press conference with Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti on the occasion of their bilateral meeting, in Rome, Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
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A US State Department spokesperson Wednesday said that 90 percent of Russian air strikes have targeted Syrian rebels opposed to Assad.
Russian Federation denies claims that its week of strikes have mainly hit non-IS targets.
Although in its early stages, the coordinated assault reveals the outline of a new alliance between Syria and its main allies – Hezbollah, Iran and Russian Federation – said an official with that alliance, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the parties had not detailed the coordination of military strategy.
Shoigu said that on Tuesday Russian Federation had summoned foreign military attaches in Moscow and suggested they supply Russian Federation with any intelligence on Islamic State positions.
Probable targets include Jabal al-Zawiya, a mountainous area that insurgents have held for years, and Jisr al-Shughour, a city in Idlib Province, which was captured by insurgents in March – a military victory that was considered an ominous sign for the Syrian government.
But Syrian rebels and their backers say a range of opposition fighters, not just jihadists, have been hit.
“They’ve been largely against opposition groups that want a better future for Syria and don’t want to see the Assad regime stay in power”. He also said it’s not that different from similar deconfliction that occurs among commercial airplanes every day in the U.S.
He said IS might have destroyed the celebrated arch as an attempt to recapture global attention after the Russian air strikes. The US side has proposed a number of safety measures, including using specific worldwide radio frequencies for distress calls by military pilots flying in Syrian airspace.
Davis says this highlights the Pentagon’s interest in talking further to Russian officials about ways to avoid accidents and potential unintended conflict in the sky over Syria.
“Here’s what you’re going to see in the next few weeks: the Russians will begin to fly combat missions in that region, not just targeting ISIS, but in order to prop up Assad”, Rubio said during the debate.
The Kremlin leader said in televised remarks that his French counterpart made the proposal in Paris on Friday during a summit to boost the peace process in Ukraine also attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Porochenko. The official said it was far enough away that there was no danger and was probably unintentional.
In Moscow, Russian authorities would not confirm that a ground offensive had begun.
Turkey said it intercepted a Russian jet that violated its air space over the weekend.
Carter and other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defense ministers are expected to discuss how to deal with the problem when they meet in Brussels Thursday.
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Iraq’s government and powerful Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias question the United States’ resolve in fighting Islamic State militants, who control a third of the country, saying U.S.-led coalition air strikes are ineffective. Rebels have been advancing there in the past months, but the Islamic State group is not present in the areas where the fighting is taking place. Activist Ahmad al-Ahmad said rebels repelled government troops from at least one village.
