Moallem, quoted by Syrian media, said Russia’s more prominent role would “wreck the plans of all those who have been plotting against Syria and also show up America’s lack of a clear strategy” against the militants.
“Russia is making no secret of its desire to take part in the fight against terrorism, and Syria has faith in the Russian leadership,” he said.
Damascus labels all those involved in the war against President Bashar Assad as “terrorists,” including Western-backed rebels.
Moallem said Russia was working “within the framework of international law and in coordination with Syria, unlike the United States ... whose actions have been ineffective.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has provided vital support to his Syrian counterpart throughout the armed revolt against Assad’s regime that broke out in 2011.
Moscow argues that any military support falls in line with existing defense contracts, but reports have surfaced of secret deployments to Syria, where Moscow has a Soviet-era naval facility.
Washington, which has led an international coalition carrying out airstrikes against ISIS in both Syria and neighboring Iraq, has repeatedly warned Moscow that bolstering Assad will only make the situation worse. But despite its reservations, the United States Friday launched military talks with Russia on the 4-year-old conflict that has cost more than 240,000 lives.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that Russia’s military backing for the Syrian regime only risks sending more extremists to the war-torn country and could further hamper any effort at bringing peace.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier “and I agreed that continued military support for the regime by Russia or any other country risks the possibility of attracting more extremists and entrenching Assad and hinders the way for resolution,” Kerry told reporters after a meeting with his German counterpart. Kerry stated Saturday that the U.S. could accept a resolution to the Syrian war that allowed Assad to remain in place for a time before departing, as the U.S. long has wanted.
“We’re not being doctrinaire about the specific date or time – we’re open,” Kerry said, adding that Assad doesn’t have to leave “on day one, or month one, or whatever.”
A powerful Syrian rebel group claimed late Friday that it fired several rockets at an airport on the coast said to be used by Russian troops.
In a video posted late Friday, members of the Islam Army warned the Russians that they will not enjoy peace in Syria. The fighters are then are seen loading and launching multiple rockets from a mountainous area. “We declare that we are targeting the Basel airport that has been turned into a Russian base,” says a fighter, standing in front of two masked men and the rocket launcher. The Syrian National Coalition, the main Western-backed group, condemned earlier this week what it called “direct Russian military intervention” and described such a step as “hostile behavior.”
The coalition’s statement said the Russian intervention “turns its forces in Syria to occupation forces.”
At least 14 civilians, including seven children, were killed Sunday when rebels in Syria shelled a government-controlled neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo, the government and an activist group said.
The state news agency said the shelling took place in Aleppo’s Midan neighborhood, once a center for the city’s thriving Armenian community.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that 14 were killed in the shelling, which it said took place early Sunday from a nearby rebel-controlled area. The group said government air raids on an adjacent neighborhood killed a child. The Observatory relies on a network of activists on the ground.
Aleppo, once the commercial center of Syria, has been divided since 2012, with government forces controlling much of western Aleppo and rebel groups in control of the east.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on September 21, 2015, on page 1.
dailystar.com.lb
21/9/15
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