Children talk of harrowing IS training

He is now believed to be stationed in Damascus, coordinating the Russian-Iranian-Syrian push against rebel forces.

The press service provided no response to Sputnik’s inquiry on Russia’s request for British counterparts to help establish contacts with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) for better coordination in anti-ISIL efforts, but added Moscow should “stop targeting legitimate opposition groups” in Syria.

The official declined to say how many leaders would be armed and trained, but noted the new effort would get under way “within days”.

One key point to be noted is that Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the two key GCC powers, have opened a direct line to the Kremlin within no time after the US President Barack Obama summarily decided that the $500 million program to train a Syrian rebel force is being terminated.

“On both sides, as far as I can tell, there is an understanding that today’s meeting can advance our cooperation”, Lavrov said. That program was widely considered a failure, and on Friday, the Defense Department announced it was abandoning the goal of a U.S.-trained Syrian force, instead opting to equip established groups to fight IS.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said during a news conference in London that the US “remains committed” to training forces in Syria against ISIS, but is looking for ways to “improve” the program.

Shaam News Network, a group of anti-government activists, said several insurgent groups, including the Nusra Front, have formed a joint operations room for activities in Hama and Idlib.

The sailors of Russia’s Caspian fleet have seen little action over the last 300 years but now the war raging in Syria has thrust them into the forefront of Russia’s largest military operation overseas since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This attracted derision from USA lawmakers, who said the programme should be scrapped altogether. Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte said the number was a “joke”.

Last month, soon after they were reinserted in Syria following training in Turkey or Jordan, a second group of graduates handed over a quarter of their ammunition and other gear to Al-Nusra.

Pentagon officials said they already had to carry out at least one “safe separation” manoeuvre to avoid an American jet coming too close to a Russian aircraft over Syria. Russian Federation has a great tradition in diplomacy and without doubt, Putin’s confidence that the improvement of the security situation in Syria will open the door for negotiations leading to a political settlement is well-founded, contrary to the apocalyptic visions being disseminated by the U.S. media reports. “Just give us targets and we’ll work them out”. Frustrated by their own inability to resolve the crisis over more than four years, the president and his team express a quiet confidence that Moscow nearly certainly will be no more successful.

Both countries have said they want to defeat terrorist groups like the Islamic State, but in Syria, Russia’s definition of terrorist encompasses a few groups that are allies of the United States.