US-led coalition pressures Russia to focus on fighting IS
US-led coalition pressures Russia to focus on fighting IS
The US-led coalition on Friday called for Russia to focus on the Islamic State group, while the Russian foreign minister denied Moscow was shoring up the Syrian regime in Damascus.
4 min read
Russian airstrikes are believed to have targeted non-IS opposition groups [Getty]
The US-led coalition called on Russia to focus its attacks on the Islamic State group and cease attacks on rebel groups, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
A joint statement by France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Britain and the US expressed concern over Russia's military actions, saying they would "only fuel more extremism and radicalisation".
The text of the statement was released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday, and confirmed by the French Foreign Ministry.
Saudi and Qatari officials on Friday made no mention of the document, nor was there any mention of it in the Gulf countries' state-run media.
Turkey and its allies are concerned that the Russian air raids could be serving to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rather than hitting Islamic State group fighters.
Turkey, which has long pushed for Assad to be overthrown, has attacked IS targets once on its own and participated in at least one other coalition strike - but has recently focused its military efforts on Kurdish rebels.
Russian jets made their first sorties in Syria on Wednesday, and Moscow quickly faced complaints about its targets.
Lavrov: Russia targeting 'terrorists'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday rejected suggestions the airstrikes were meant to shore up support for Assad, Moscow's main ally in the Middle East after reports that jets hit moderate rebels.
"I would recall that we always were saying that we are going to fight [IS] and other terrorist groups," he said at the United Nations headquarters.
"This is the same position which the Americans are taking. The representatives of the coalition command have always been saying that their targets are [IS], al-Nusra and other terrorist groups. This is basically our position as well. We see eye-to-eye with the coalition on this one."
Asked whether it was true that the US and Russia were on the same page, US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed "in concept".
"But we are not yet where we need to be," Washington's top diplomat added.
Kerry, who met Lavrov at the UN on Wednesday, said US and Russian officials were still engaged in talks "to guarantee safety and security and division of responsibility".
Russia launched air attacks in war-torn Syria on Wednesday, striking areas held by opponents of Bashar al-Assad's regime in the central provinces of Homs and Hama.
On Thursday, it pounded targets again in Hama and Idlib in the northwest.
Lavrov dismissed claims by US Senator John McCain that Russian warplanes hit US-backed rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
He declined to be drawn into questions about which specific groups were considered terrorists, but added that the US- and Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army was not among them.
Russia is not planning to expand its air campaign to neighbouring Iraq, he added, stressing that there had been no such request from the Baghdad government.
"We were not invited, we were not asked, and we are polite people, as you know. We don't come if not invited," Lavrov said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he would consider allowing Russia to carry out air raids on militant groups on Iraqi territory.
Ramifications
US officials said on Thursday that senior military leaders and defence officials were working through the thorny legal and foreign policy issues and were weighing the risks of using force in response to a Russian attack.
Defence Secretary Ash Carter declined to discuss the problem when asked about it this week.
But US officials acknowledged that this is one of the questions being asked as they debate the broader dilemma of how the administration should respond to what White House press secretary Josh Earnest described as Russia's "indiscriminate military operations against the Syrian opposition".
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss ongoing deliberations publicly.
A key concern is the prospect of the US and Russia getting drawn into a shooting war in the event that Russian warplanes hit moderate Syrian rebels who have been trained and equipped by the US military.
A joint statement by France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Britain and the US expressed concern over Russia's military actions, saying they would "only fuel more extremism and radicalisation".
The text of the statement was released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday, and confirmed by the French Foreign Ministry.
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Turkey and its allies are concerned the Russian air raids could be strengthening Assad rather than hitting IS fighters |
Turkey and its allies are concerned that the Russian air raids could be serving to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rather than hitting Islamic State group fighters.
Turkey, which has long pushed for Assad to be overthrown, has attacked IS targets once on its own and participated in at least one other coalition strike - but has recently focused its military efforts on Kurdish rebels.
Russian jets made their first sorties in Syria on Wednesday, and Moscow quickly faced complaints about its targets.
Lavrov: Russia targeting 'terrorists'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday rejected suggestions the airstrikes were meant to shore up support for Assad, Moscow's main ally in the Middle East after reports that jets hit moderate rebels.
"I would recall that we always were saying that we are going to fight [IS] and other terrorist groups," he said at the United Nations headquarters.
"This is the same position which the Americans are taking. The representatives of the coalition command have always been saying that their targets are [IS], al-Nusra and other terrorist groups. This is basically our position as well. We see eye-to-eye with the coalition on this one."
Asked whether it was true that the US and Russia were on the same page, US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed "in concept".
"But we are not yet where we need to be," Washington's top diplomat added.
Kerry, who met Lavrov at the UN on Wednesday, said US and Russian officials were still engaged in talks "to guarantee safety and security and division of responsibility".
Russia launched air attacks in war-torn Syria on Wednesday, striking areas held by opponents of Bashar al-Assad's regime in the central provinces of Homs and Hama.
On Thursday, it pounded targets again in Hama and Idlib in the northwest.
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We were not invited, we were not asked, and we are polite people, as you know. We don't come if not invited - Sergey Lavrov |
He declined to be drawn into questions about which specific groups were considered terrorists, but added that the US- and Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army was not among them.
Russia is not planning to expand its air campaign to neighbouring Iraq, he added, stressing that there had been no such request from the Baghdad government.
"We were not invited, we were not asked, and we are polite people, as you know. We don't come if not invited," Lavrov said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he would consider allowing Russia to carry out air raids on militant groups on Iraqi territory.
Ramifications
US officials said on Thursday that senior military leaders and defence officials were working through the thorny legal and foreign policy issues and were weighing the risks of using force in response to a Russian attack.
Defence Secretary Ash Carter declined to discuss the problem when asked about it this week.
But US officials acknowledged that this is one of the questions being asked as they debate the broader dilemma of how the administration should respond to what White House press secretary Josh Earnest described as Russia's "indiscriminate military operations against the Syrian opposition".
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss ongoing deliberations publicly.
A key concern is the prospect of the US and Russia getting drawn into a shooting war in the event that Russian warplanes hit moderate Syrian rebels who have been trained and equipped by the US military.
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