Syria conflict: Russian parliament gives green light for use of military force

“The operation’s military goal is exclusively air support of the Syrian armed forces in their fight against ISIL”, Ivanov said. However, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad main backers, Iran and Russian Federation, criticized that effort and kept their distance from a campaign that has seen limited success. He pointed out that that was the fundamental distinguishing feature of Russia’s approach and the approach of its Western partners.

The Kremlin said in a brief statement today morning that Putin sent a request to the Russia’s upper chamber for the authorization of the use of force in Syria “on the basis of universal principles and norms of global law”.

“The reality is that the loss of Syria to radical extremists is neither in the West’s nor Russia’s interests”, Paul Stronski, the senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for global Peace, wrote in a Reuters blogpost.

“That’s strategic information”, he said.

Moscow, which already maintains a naval base in Syria’s Tartus province, is said to have sent at least 500 troops as well as a slew of military hardware into Syria.

According to the Russian constitution, Putin has to request parliamentary approval for the use of Russian troops overseas. In the most recent development, Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reached a deal late Tuesday on the withdrawal of tanks and other weapons from the frontline.

The Russian president also said he had not ruled out air strikes on IS.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama did not discuss creating coalitions, but did discuss possibilities of cooperating in a few of the most acute issues, including in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister said.

Russian Federation has been building up its military presence in Syria, where it supports the government forces of President Bashar al Assad.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with the country’s government fighting against several opposition factions and numerous militant groups, including the Islamic State.