But the increase in support marks a significant and worrisome development, USA officials say.
Advertisement
The White House, however, said that Russia’s support for Assad was “counterproductive” and that the United States would like to see more “constructive engagement” from Moscow with the coalition against ISIS, spokesman Josh Earnest said, according to the BBC.
“All Russian policy in Syria is very clearly directed at overcoming global isolation because of Ukraine“, Mr Golts said.
Human Rights Syrian Observatory, a monitoring group, added new Russian deployment was being put into action effectively, and 38 IS fighters killed in air strikes in insurgents-held towns in central Syria.
Russian Federation has been dramatically increasing its forces at an air base south of Latakia, a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including positioning combat planes and helicopters as well as tanks and accommodation blocks.
The two leaders agreed on ways to prevent an unintended confrontation between Israel’s military and Russian forces deployed in Syria, Netanyahu told Israeli reporters after the talks, the Haaretz daily reported.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said that Defence Secretary Ashton Carter will continue his talks on Syria with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Shoygu, if Moscow’s measures aim to combat Daesh and promote a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the country. One reason is that the army in Latakia will be able to identify targets accurately by ground and air.
The accord reached in Moscow between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin came as the Kremlin’s military buildup in the war-torn country showed no sign of slackening.
Cook would not acknowledge the airpower build-up in Syria and would not discuss the need for deconfliction if Russian Federation begins launching airstrikes, noting that he would not discuss “hypotheticals”.
“As regards Syria, we call for a renewed UN-led worldwide effort to bring an end to the war that has caused so much suffering and forced an estimated 12 million people to leave their homes”, the summit statement said.
Advertisement
The two new sites where IHS Jane’s analysts say Russian troops could go are the the Istamo weapons storage complex and the Al-Sanobar military complex, both north of the Latakia base.
