White House reiterates need for deconfliction between US, Russia in Syria

He insisted Russian Federation won’t send troops to Syria.

“We agreed on the imperative of as soon as possible, perhaps even as soon as tomorrow, but as soon possible, having a military to military deconfliction discussion”, Kerry said after talks with Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Activists in Syria and a U.K.-based monitoring group with extensive contacts on the ground said Thursday’s strikes had focused on Idlib province, and targeted a coalition of Islamic extremist groups which includes al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, al Nusra Front.

Rejecting any doubts and queries, Lavrov has said the Russian air forces are cooperating with the Syrian pro-government military to target exclusively IS targets and the Russian Defense Ministry has clearly stated on its website the targets and objectives of Russian airstrikes, Lavrov said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in Washington on Wednesday that the first Russian airstrike in Syria seems to have occurred in a zone where the IS does not operate, a situation that Assad opponents have denounced.

She said the airstrikes come in response to an “official request by Syria’s government from the Russian Federation”.

“It makes Russian Federation look strong, and it helps Mr. Putin at home… there’s a very high economic cost to that, of course, but it sells”.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Russian Federation was moving to “ramp up” support for Assad, adding: “They’ve made a significant military investment now in further propping him up”. “If, on the other hand, this is action against the Free Syrian Army in support of Assad the dictator, then obviously that is a retrograde step but let us see exactly what has happened.” “What happens in the Middle East will tie in with their ambitions in terms of energy, in terms of relations, and so he’s playing with a rather weak set of cards but he’s playing them extremely well”.

“These organisations are well known and the targets are chosen in coordination with the armed forces of Syria,” he said. He listed countries with a key role to play in resolving the chaos in Syria, including Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, the US and China.

The areas targeted in Hama are controlled mostly by Islamist and moderate rebel groups, many backed by the US-led coalition.

The top national security officials spoke as Russian Federation launched its first airstrikes in Syria targeting what it said were Islamic State positions.

He says their communications in Russian intercepted.

By targeting non-Islamic State rebels, Vladimir Putin’s Syria strategy echoes the regime’s own approach to the four-and-a-half-year civil war: attack less radical rebels, in order to amplify the perceived threat of an unchecked Islamic State.