From the Website of CNN NEWS
links: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/30/politics/russia-syria-airstrikes-isis/index.html
Russia conducts first airstrike in Syria
Washington (CNN)Russia has conducted its first airstrike against ISIS in Syria, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.
The
airstrike targeted ISIS military equipment, communications centers,
vehicles and ammunition, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said, as part of
pinpoint strikes against ISIS ground targets.
The
official said the U.S. had no intention of preventing the strikes but
that Russian planes didn't seem to be flying in areas where the U.S. was
operating. "They are not stupid," the official said.
The
State Department said U.S.-led coalition missions were continuing as
normal despite an advance warning and request from Russia to stay out of
Syrian airspace.
"A
Russian official in Baghdad this morning informed U.S. Embassy
personnel that Russian military aircraft would begin flying anti-ISIL
missions today over Syria," said spokesman John Kirby. "He further
requested that U.S. aircraft avoid Syrian airspace during these
missions."
A senior U.S. defense
official told CNN the Pentagon was "taken aback" by Russia's actions.
"Our presidents just talked about setting up de-confliction talks and
now they just go ahead and do this? They cannot be trusted."
A
second U.S. official said: "This is not how military relations are
conducted, by banging on the door of our embassy and reading a note."
Pentagon
spokesman Peter Cook had told reporters Tuesday that Secretary of
Defense Ash Carter directed his staff to "open lines of communication
with Russia on de-confliction." The purpose of discussions would be "to
ensure the safety of coalition air crews," he said.
Russia: Coalition strikes on ISIS illegal
Earlier
Wednesday, the upper house of the Russian parliament gave President
Vladimir Putin approval to use the air force in Syria, state media
reported.
"The Federation Council
unanimously supported the President's request -- 162 votes in favor of
granting permission," Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov said, according to state-run ITAR-Tass news agency.
Federation
Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said that the Bashar al-Assad
regime was the only legitimate force fighting ISIS, ITAR-Tass reported.
It quoted her as saying that strikes by the U.S-led coalition violated
international law as "interference into the territory of a sovereign
state can only be carried out on authorization of U.N. Security Council
or on request of official legitimate authorities."
Matviyenko's comments were echoed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, ITAR-Tass reported.
"As a matter of fact Russia will be the sole country that will be
carrying out that operation on the legitimate basis at the request of
Syria's legitimate authorities," Peskov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia conducted airstrikes after a request from al-Assad, the Syrian President.
Speaking
at the start of a United Nations Security Council meeting to combat
terrorism, Lavrov said: "On the 30th of September in response to a
letter by the President of Syria, the President of Russia asked and
received the consent of the Council of Federation for the use of the
armed forces of the Russian Federation in the Syrian Arab Republic."
He
continued: "We're referring here exclusively to the operation of the
Russian air force to carry out strikes against ISIL positions in Syria.
We have informed the authorities in the United States and other members
of the coalition created by the Americans of this and are ready to
forge standing channels of communication to ensure maximally effective
fight against the terrorist groups."
'No Russian boots on the ground'
Putin, speaking Wednesday at a government meeting, said his country would not become mired in the Syrian conflict.
"This
military operation is limited in time. Russian air forces will help
Assad's army while it's on the offensive mode," Putin said. "There will
be no Russian boots on the ground."
Ahead
of Wednesday's strikes Russia's air force carried out several days of
familiarization flights, and the collection of potential targeting
information by drones.
Four Russian
Su-34 Fullback fighter jets are now at the Latakia air base in Syria,
and more than 600 Russian troops are in place, a U.S. official with
knowledge of the latest intelligence told CNN this week.
Iraq agrees to deal with Russia, Iran and Syria 01:14
U.S. officials have previously said Russia's movements suggest that its targets might be something other than ISIS.
"We
see some very sophisticated air defenses going into those airfields. We
see some very sophisticated air-to-air aircraft going into these
airfields. I have not seen ISIL flying any airplanes that require SA-15s
or SA-22s (Russian missiles). I have not seen ISIL flying any airplanes
that require sophisticated air-to-air capabilities," Gen. Phillip
Breedlove, NATO's supreme allied commander, said on Monday.
"I'm
looking at the capabilities and the capacities that are being created
and I determine from that what might be their intent. These very
sophisticated air defense capabilities are not about ISIL. They're about
something else," he concluded.
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Defense
officials have previously told CNN that the U.S. believes Moscow may
fear that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may not be able to retain
power in the war-torn country and wants to be in position to be able to
support a proxy should the situation collapse.
Russia
is also a close ally of Assad and may want to bolster him, while the
U.S. has repeatedly called for him to go in order to resolve the
five-year civil war.
The new
developments continue a pattern of strategic buildup for Russia in and
near Syria. In recent weeks, Russia has moved aircraft, tanks, artillery
and armored vehicles into Syria, though its objective in the region
remains murky.
The intelligence on
Russia's actions make clear that the U.S. is dedicating a substantial
amount of satellite and eavesdropping capabilities to monitoring the
developments around the clock.
CNN Website
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