North Atlantic Treaty Organisation concerned over Russian presence in Syria

Washington expressed concern over the Russian military build-up in Syria and put pressure on countries nearby to deny their air space to Russian flights to the country.

Russian Federation has backed the government of Bashar al-Assad since the beginning of the conflict in the country.

Three Russian Antonov An-124 “Condor” planes offloading building supplies and air traffic control equipment were also spotted by US satellites.

Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov has confirmed that the nation’s “humanitarian” flights to Syria carry army gear in addition to humanitarian help – after the USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation warned Moscow over its involvement within the Syrian battle.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said that would not be acceptable.

Putin has also sought to cast arms supplies to Assad’s government as part of global efforts to combat the Islamic State group and other militant organizations in Syria.

The United States of America is however viewing this move by Russian Federation as worrisome. “We support very much the efforts by the U.N”. Russia’s only naval base in the Mediterranean Sea is at Tartous on Syria’s coast, and protecting it would be a major strategic objective for Moscow.

The two top diplomats spoke again on Wednesday, Tass reported, casting the second conversation as more of a collaborative discussion of how to end the war in Syria and cooperate in driving out Islamic State.

Former USA official PJ Crowley discusses impact of Russia-Syria tiesCCTV America interviewed PJ Crowley, a former U.S. State Department spokesperson about the impact of Syria-Russia ties. “The Russians are no longer just advisers”, one of the sources speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said. “Russian Federation and Iran could have a discussion today, make a phone call to Damascus tomorrow and change the future of this situation”. He did not elaborate, saying only: “I’m not gonna detail diplomatic conversations”.

Read the remaining…Analysis: Why Is Russian Federation So Interested in Syria?

On Tuesday Bulgaria refused a Russian request to use its airspace due to doubts about the cargo on board.

“Syrian-Russian ties in the military context are a prolonged relationship, and whatever is coming from the Russian military to Syria is a result of previous agreements that were settled in the past, and are not something new“, Zohbi told Al-Manar. The Russian military presence is there to help Syrians become familiar with this equipment.