The weapons drop is a departure from a $500 million, highly structured vetting, training and equipping program that the US tried to launch this year at four sites outside of Syria, in Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
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Russia says the United States has refused to host a delegation led by the Russian prime minister for discussions on Syria.
“Even as we continue to disagree on Syria policy, we should be able to at least agree on making sure our airmen are as safe as possible”, Carter said.
Moscow insists it is targeting IS, which has emerged as the preeminent jihadist group during the conflict and seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.
Putin meanwhile criticised Washington for refusing to share intelligence with Russian Federation and accusing it of muddled thinking.
The IS’s Adnani said the United States was weak and using Russian Federation and Assad’s other ally Iran to strengthen its position in Syria, claiming Washington was willing “to forge an alliance with the devil”.
Earlier on Tuesday, the USA military said two US and two Russian aircraft “entered the same battle space” over Syria on Saturday, getting within miles of each other. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the road used by Aleppo residents heading north to the Turkish border remained closed on Wednesday. Russia’s Interfax news agency, citing Russian military officials, said the talks would be held via video conference.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Washington notified Moscow Wednesday of its refusal to meet the Russian delegation.
“The Syrian Arab Coalition is nowhere near the Assad regime, so it’s kind of a moot point”, he said. Thousands of fighters and supplies from Iran had also reached Hmeimim airport in Latakia province, the Observatory said.
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Supported by two weeks of air strikes, the Syrian army and its allies have been fighting insurgents in northern Hama province, and neighbouring Idlib and Latakia provinces, trying to reverse rebel gains over the summer which had threatened the coastal heartlands of Assad’s Alawite minority.
