Russia, United States to hold military talks over Syria: Pentagon

“It was clear that something pretty big was up”.

According to reports, eyewitnesses saw a large explosion in Huraytan, northern Syria, while three fighter jets were hovering above.

[U.S. will not confront Russian Federation in Syria, Obama says] . The strikes also damaged a fragile USA strategy that sustained an additional blow Friday when the Pentagon acknowledged that it was sharply scaling back its effort to build a force to battle the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Citing the work with the Kurds along the Syrian-Turkish border, Carter said: “That’s exactly the kind of example that we would like to pursue with other groups in other parts of Syria going forward”.

“A couple of weeks ago the Assad regime was under real pressure”, said Salman Shaikh, a former United Nations diplomat who now heads The Shaikh Group.

Two noteworthy events have occurred in respect of Syria in recent days that are likely to have a wider echo in Russia-America relations, and impact not just the political dynamics in West Asia but also in Europe.

Russian Aerospace Forces commenced precision airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from President Bashar Assad.

Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes seized a village in central Syria on Saturday amid fierce clashes with rebels, part of a ground offensive launched earlier this week.

A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on the incident.

Other US officials interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Again, Russian officials rejected the allegation. The trip came amid concerns that the coalition might be fraying, worries that intensified after allies including the Saudi defense minister and Jordan’s King Abdullah II made summer visits to Moscow.

One senior administration official speaking to Reuters insisted there were “no surprises” and that lawmakers were “comfortable” with the intelligence they received leading up the Russian intervention.

The Senate and House intelligence committees have begun examining whether US spy agencies missed signals of Russia’s intentions in Syria despite tracking the buildup over a six-week span.

Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, said the U.S. should consider establishing a no-fly zone that allows rebels a safe place from which to operate. “I don’t know if they will”. “I’m not sure even Putin’s inner circle would have seen it coming”.

The incursion followed almost a week of Russia’s devastating bombing campaign in Syria after President Vladimir Putin declared war on Islamic State (ISIS).

An initial round of talks between defense officials in Moscow and Washington to set rules to “deconflict” air operations between the two countries, held October 1, brought little result.

‘The discussions were professional and focused narrowly on the implementation of specific safety procedures, ‘ Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

The US estimates there are now at least 2,000 Russian military personnel at the airbase in Latakia, Syria, from which Russia has launched its air campaign.

“This will have consequences for Russian Federation itself”, Carter said.