Russia’s airstrikes have made Syria “much more dangerous”, the Defence Secretary has warned in a dramatic signal to Vladimir Putin.
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“I think it is a good opportunity to meet and exchange information and to take steps that will allow (the countries) to operate on matters that interest them”, Drobinin said.
Nato’s secretary-general has rejected Moscow’s claim that its military incursion into alliance airspace over Turkey was not intentional or important, saying there were two separate incidents and “the violation lasted for a long time“.
Tensions between Russia and Turkey widened Tuesday over the Russian bombings of Syrian rebels and multiple violations of Turkish airspace, which have deeply undercut Turkey’s goals in the Syrian civil war.
Russian officials acknowledged and apologised for one incursion into Turkish airspace, which they said was a mistake, but said they had no knowledge of a second incident.
Russian aircraft twice entered Turkish air space at the weekend and Turkey says an unidentified MIG-29 harassed its jets on Monday, prompting the foreign ministry to summon the Russian ambassador three times in protest.
The Russian Defense Ministry itself has said it has more than 50 warplanes and helicopters in Syria.
Putin said it was too early to talk about the results of Russia’s operations in Syria and ordered Shoigu to continue cooperation with the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq on Syria.
Russia could implement U.S. proposals aiming to coordinate Moscow’s strikes in Syria with the Washington-led coalition, a Russian defense ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the alliance aims to make clear it will respond to any challenge.
Moscow has mainly targeted central and northwestern Syria, strategic regions that are the gateway to President Bashar Assad’s strongholds in Damascus, and along the Mediterranean coast.
The targets were about 930 miles, or about 1,500 kilometers, from the Russian flotilla of four warships that launched the missiles, Mr. Shoigu said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the operations are concentrated in the neighboring provinces of Hama and Idlib. It has since deteriorated into fighting between pro-government forces and various rebel groups – a few of which also fight each other.
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On a weeklong trip to Europe, Carter is focused on reassuring European allies of US support as they face growing security threats from a more aggressive Russian Federation and militant extremists from north Africa.
