“Twelve SU-25 “Frogfeet” and 12 SU-24 “Fencer” attack aircraft flew surreptitiously into Syria accompanying the now daily Condor cargo flights arriving in Latakia“, an unnamed USA official was quoted as saying by AFP news agency Monday.
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But he said that a grand global coalition envisaged by Mr Putin would be nearly impossible to put together because of disagreements about whether Assad is a legitimate leader of Syria. His testimony was reported by CNN.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said over the weekend the United States welcomed Russia’s involvement in tackling Islamic State militants in Syria.
“Like a nuclear disaster, the fallout from the meltdown of Syria threatens to be with us for decades, and the longer it is permitted to continue, the more severe the damage will be”. But he said the U.S.is ready to engage in an immediate dialogue with Russian Federation to promote a peace agreement that would see Assad removed from power.
Israel is closely following the Russian military build-up in Syria.
But Russian and western military experts said surface-to-air missiles were an integral part of the defenses of any air base.
Russia’s military increase in Syria has the US government concerned that they plan to take offensive action in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that Moscow and Tehran were both dedicated to ending the civil war using any means possible, while safeguarding the Assad regime. Gadi Eisenkot and General Valery Vasilevich Gerasimov -who also met yesterday, agreed that a mechanism would be established which Netanyahu said would “avoid any misunderstandings between our forces” in the future.
Despite repeated contacts on the subject by the senior government officials, Cook said US officials “still do not have an entirely clear picture of exactly what the Russians are hoping to do in Syria”. Israeli forces have reportedly conducted several strikes in Syria on attempted Iranian arms transfers to Lebanese Shi’ite movement Hizbollah, another Assad ally.
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“It stands with the Syrian state politically, economically and militarily”, he said. “[Putin] has already spoken to the Saudis and enlisted their help on the matter; he has spoken to the Jordanians; now Israel’s turn has come; and Iran will also be in on it”.
