In Paris, Russian Ambassador Alexander Orlov insisted that Russian warplanes in Syria were hitting at the same extremists targeted by the USA and denied American claims that its military failed to coordinate the airstrikes.
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He said the results of Russia’s Wednesday strikes were “representative of what you’d expect from dumb bombs being dropped from airplanes at medium altitude, which was not that impressive”.
Russian Federation and the United States both oppose ISIS, but side with different factions in the war otherwise, marking the first time since the Cold War the two major powers have been on opposing sides in a Middle East conflict.
Russian TV’s been showing video of what officials are calling pinpoint strikes on rebel bases, but there’s a big discrepancy because other rebel groups in Syria are now saying that their bases were being hit and not the Islamic State.
The dramatic escalation of the conflict in Syria prompted by Russia’s military action has dominated the United Nations General Assembly.
The United States has led a coalition of Western allies and regional states in Syria that has been flying missions there for a year.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced what he called “distorted and false information” being circulated about the intent of Russia’s intervention in Syria.
But the moderate Syrian opposition said the strikes had targeted territory under its control and killed civilians.
The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel-Rahman, confirmed the latest strikes, saying he believed they had been launched by Russian jets.
Moscow began airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday after building up military equipment there in recent weeks.
The Russian minister did not respond directly to a question asking specifically whether or not Russia is targeting opposition groups supported by the U.S.-led coalition.
“We have prevented IS fighters from re-establishing a command post in the Hama province that had been destroyed”, spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. “And I see that that is unfortunately not the Russian position“. “They will be followed by more“, the second source said.
The Russian foreign minister declined to be drawn into questions about which specific groups were considered terrorists, but added that the US- and Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army was not among them.
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Her statement was carried by the official IRNA news agency.
