Putin Seeks Parliament’s Approval for Use of Force Outside Russia

The strikes come hours after Vladimir Putin was given permission to use military force in Syria by his country’s parliament.

Russia has already sent military experts to a recently established center in Baghdad that is coordinating air strikes and ground troops in Syria, a Russian official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Matviyenko added, “In this situation, we could not refuse Syrian President Bashar Assad and continue watching how people die, how women and children die, how historical and cultural sites are being destroyed”.

According to Cook, the objective of the “de-confliction discussions” will be to ensure the ongoing U.S.-led coalition air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) are not “interrupted” by any future Russian military activity and to avoid misjudgement and miscalculation.

He said the biggest difference between other countries conducting airstrikes in Syria-such as the United States-is that “they do not comply with the worldwide law, but we do”. The prosecutor’s office said Wednesday the investigation is based on photos taken by a former Syrian officer who fled in 2013 and focuses on atrocities allegedly committed between 2011 and 2013.

Putin said the Russian air force will be supporting the Syrian army in its offensive operations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin asked for and received parliamentary approval Wednesday to use Russian armed forces in Syria in the fight against Islamic State, the Kremlin’s chief of staff told journalists.

Russia’s Federation Council chamber voted on the measure after receiving a request from Syria for military aid.

The vote comes after Putin’s meeting Monday with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, where the two discussed Russia’s recent military buildup in Syria.

“They gave us a heads-up they were going to start striking in Syria”, a U.S. defence official said.

“The operations of the Russian air force cannot of course go on indefinitely and will be subject to clearly prescribed time frames”.

However a French diplomatic source claims the Russians have attacked Syrian opposition targets rather than IS strongholds.