But in a rare moment of bipartisan accord, Russia’s sudden escalation of aggression in Syria also has many lawmakers urging Obama to give up the ghost on the United States’ single biggest sticking point with Vladmir Putin: the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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Moscow had insisted that it was targeting IS militants while US officials and other cast doubt on the claim, saying the Russians appeared to be attacking opposition groups fighting Syrian government forces.
A second day of Russian airstrikes battered positions in Syria on Thursday, while diplomats peddled conflicting reports as to which groups Moscow’s planes were targeting.
Senior U.S. officials had expressed alarm after Russian warplanes began their first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.
That it has intentionally allowed ISIS supplies to flow out from under the nose of its allies and its own military forces stationed both in Jordan and in Turkey, indicates the the USA at the very least is tacitly perpetuating the existence of ISIS – but most likely is actively involved in filling the trucks bound for ISIS in Syria as well.
Britain and the United States “might have to live with” the Syrian dictator remaining in power, Crispin Blunt added.
The ministry’s spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, said the “Islamic Republic of Iran considers military action by Russian Federation against armed terrorist groups to be a step toward fighting terrorism and toward resolving the current crisis” in Syria.
Russian Federation began air strikes in Syria on Wednesday in a major escalation of the more than four-year conflict, hitting rebel groups in the country’s west, including Homs province.
Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters the USA and Russian Federation are going to have a military-to-military meeting to make sure they don’t accidentally target each other and to clarify exactly which targets Russian Federation is striking.
Moscow supports the Syrian president and believes his government should be the centrepiece of worldwide efforts to fight extremist groups. Islamic battalion targeted regime’s artillery in Tal Melih checkpoint, reports of losses in regime forces. A lot of them advocate a tougher approach to Putin – in fact, Carly Fiorina said she “wouldn’t talk to him at all”.
The rebels have already struggled in the fight against the Syrian military, dogged by internal divisions and the rise of radical jihadist groups such as Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.
Sky’s diplomatic editor Dominic Waghorn said it was likely the Russian Federation strikes had targeted Turkish and Arab-trained rebels opposing Mr al Assad.
Putin secured the parliament’s unanimous backing to launch airstrikes against IS militants in Syria on Wednesday, paving the way for imminent Russian military intervention in its closest Middle East ally.
Bashar al-Zoubi, who heads one of the largest rebel groups in southern Syria, called on Assad’s Arab foes to meet the rebels’ long-standing demand for anti-aircraft missiles so they could defend themselves from the newly arrived Russian jets.
Moscow however has never condemned Assad for civilian deaths and argues that he must be part of the political solution to the conflict.
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“These organisations (on the target list) are well-known and the targets are chosen in coordination with the armed forces of Syria”, Dmitry Peskov said.
