Russia Will Consider Sending Troops to Syria if Asked

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday that he was ready to talk with the Russians about the ongoing civil war in Syria, and Moscow’s continuing presence there.

The Pentagon has said it is most concerned with the “deconfliction” of air space, as the USA has been using Syrian airspace to carry out air strikes against the Islamic State, but an official on Friday would not say whether the conversation on Syria was specifically about air operations.

The coordination necessary to avoid such encounters is known in military parlance as “deconfliction”.

“We would welcome Russian contributions to the overall global effort against (the IS group) but things that continue to support the Assad regime, particularly military things, are unhelpful and risk adding greater instability to an already unstable situation”, Davis said.

The United States favors removing Syrian President Bashar Assad from power because his troops have killed thousands of people in the war and forced millions to flee, spurring the migrant crisis in Europe.

High-level military talks with Moscow were severed by the Pentagon in 2014 over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and intervention in eastern Ukraine.

“The Secretary emphasized the importance of pursuing such consultations in parallel with diplomatic talks that would ensure a political transition in Syria“, Cook said.

The Kremlin has dismissed any military build-up, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russian Federation would send more help to Syria if requested.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Moscow was prepared to provide Washington with information on its military cooperation with Damascus.

American and Russian military chiefs began talks Friday over Moscow’s buildup in Syria, signaling the U.S.is resigned to Russia’s emerging plans but anxious to avoid unsafe misunderstandings on the battlefield.

“Obviously the focus remains on destroying ISIL and also on a political settlement with respect to Syria which we believe can not be achieved with a long-term presence of Assad but we are looking for ways in which to try and find a common ground”, he said.

“Rejecting such a possibility, ignoring the capability of the Syrian army as a partner and ally in the fight against the IS means sacrificing security of the entire region for political or geopolitical intentions and calculations”, he said.

The defense official did not rule out future discussions between US and Russian officials on Russian support missions for Assad, even though the USA opposes that support.