Russia Issues Stern Warning Against US Cooperation with Terrorists in Syria
Cartoon by Rebel Politik
Moscow, for the third time in a row, has issued warnings against the United States for shielding the terrorists attacking Syrian Army positions. On September 28, advancing Syrian army units across the Euphrates river in the east of Deir ez-Zor came under heavy attack by US-backed militias. Russia has said its Syrian allies were attacked by the terrorists coming from areas near a de-escalation zone overseen by the US.
Accusing Washington of jeopardising the fight against Islamic State terrorists, the Russian ministry’s spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said “We have repeatedly pointed out that the major obstacle to the complete elimination of IS in Syria lies not in the fighting capability of the terrorists but [in the fact] that American colleagues are supporting them and are ‘flirting’ with them.”
Russia has claimed that such a coordinated attack on Syrian forces indicate that they possess sophisticated intelligence data that can only be obtained as a result of air reconnaissance. The terrorists bypassed all hidden posts of Syrian Army "having in their hands, absolutely precise coordinates, which can only be obtained through aerial reconnaissance, processed by specialists, and then carefully transferred to carry out sabotage and terrorist actions," said Konashenkov in a statement.
On September 21, Russia had raised the threat of a direct confrontation with the US forces in Syria, saying it would target areas occupied by American forces and US-backed militants if its troops came under fire. Accusing the United States of ‘double standards’, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said that Washington is playing a dirty game in enabling the terrorists and that there are no such things are good or bad terrorists. “In some cases, these forces mount allegedly accidental strikes against the Syrian Armed Forces, after which Islamic State counterattacks. In other cases, they inspire other terrorists to attack strategic locations over which official Damascus has restored its legitimate authority, or to stage fatal provocations against our military personnel,” Lavrov said.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem had also blamed the US for encouraging former Al-Nusra militants to derail the Astana peace process. The Astana peace process, chaired by Russia, Iran and Turkey, had resulted in the three countries signing a memorandum which called for the creation of de-escalation zones to reduce the violence. The aim of the agreement is to try and end the violent clashes between militant groups and the Syrian and Russian military, and to “provide the conditions for the safe, voluntary return of refugees”, writes Patrick Henningsen.
The US on its part has denied the Russian accusation and said that the coalition’s main goal was "to kill ISIS or compel them to surrender."
Earlier, the Russian Minister of Defence on its Facebook page had posted aerial photos of US Special Operations Forces and US-backed militias being present in Islamic State areas. According to the post, no offensive action was manoeuvred by US forces against IS militants in the area.
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