There has been at least one close encounter between a Russian aircraft and a US aircraft over Syria, forcing the U.S.to re-route that aircraft to avoid a conflict, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.
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The Pentagon spokesman declined to give any details about how many times the USA may have had to divert its aircraft but noted that it happened on at least one occasion in the days after the first round of technical talks with Russian Federation on the issue.
But the Russians are mostly bombing rebels in the west who are fighting the Assad dictatorship.
The United States wants to set up basic rules with Russian Federation to deconflict the two countries’ military operations in Syria, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
“The Russians carried out only one half or at best a quarter of the strikes they claim to have conducted”, said a senior military official.
In the wake of a USA airstrike that mistakenly hit a Doctors Without Borders clinic in Kunduz, Afghanistan, a New York-based advocacy agency says Russian air strikes have destroyed multiple medical facilities in Syria. “We saw them, with these incursions into its airspace, reacting quickly and responsibly”, he added.
The latest developments come exactly a week after Russian Federation began launching airstrikes in Syria.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that it had promptly examined an unspecified proposal from the Pentagon on coordination in Syria that the two sides have been discussing, adding that it was possible that this proposal could be implemented.
Neither official could say whether the US was notified that the Russian missiles would fly over Iraq or whether there were any close calls with USA aircraft flying in that country. This marks the first time the Russians have ever used the Kalibers other than in training.
The Russia intensified its airstrikes on the western parts of Syria near Homs, Lattakia and Damascus but Russian fighters have also conducted operations on al-Raqqah, Daesh’s self-declared capital.
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PHR says that Russian strikes last week damaged a field hospital in Latamneh, injuring multiple medical staffers, partially destroyed an ambulance depot and emergency response center in Benin, and damaged a hospital in Latakia which was the only facility in the region with an obstetrics/gynecology unit.
