Russian
warplanes began bombarding Syrian opposition targets in the war-torn nation's
north Wednesday, following a terse meeting at which a Russian general asked
Pentagon officials to clear out of Syrian air space and was rebuffed, Fox News
has learned.
A U.S. official
said Russian airstrikes targeted fighters in the vicinity of Homs, located
roughly 60 miles east of a Russian naval facility in Tartus, and were carried
out by a "couple" of Russian bombers. The strikes hit targets in Homs
and Hama, but there is no presence of ISIS in those areas, a senior U.S.
defense official said. These planes are hitting areas where Free Syrian Army
and other anti-Assad groups are located, the official said.
According to a
U.S. senior official, Presidents Obama and Putin agreed on a process to
"deconflict" military operations. The Russians on Wednesday
"bypassed that process," the official said. "That's
not how responsible nations do business," the official said.
The development
came after Pentagon officials, in a development first reported by Fox News,
brushed aside an official request, or "demarche," from Russia to
clear air space over northern Syria, where Moscow said it intended to conduct
airstrikes against ISIS on behalf of Assad, according to sources who spoke to
Fox News. The request was made in a heated discussion between a Russian
three-star general and U.S. officials at the American Embassy in Baghdad,
sources said. "If you
have forces in the area we request they leave," said the general, who used
the word "please" in the contentious encounter. More on this...
A senior Pentagon
official said the U.S., which also has been conducting airstrikes against ISIS,
but does not support Assad, said the request was not honored.
"We still
conducted our normal strike operations in Syria today," the official said.
"We did not and have not changed our operations." "We still
conducted our normal strike operations in Syria today"- Senior Pentagon
official
State
Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters the Russian airstrikes won't
change the strategy of the U.S.-led coalition.
"The U.S.-led
coalition will continue to fly missions over Iraq and Syria as planned and in
support of our international mission to degrade and destroy ISIL," Kirby
told reporters, while acknowledging the meeting at the American embassy in
Baghdad.
Russia's Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov told foreign ministers of world powers Wednesday that
his country is "ready to forge standing channels of communication to
ensure a maximally effective fight against terrorist groups."
Lavrov spoke to
the U.N. Security Council shortly after Russia's defense ministry announced its
jets are carrying out airstrikes on Islamic State group positions in Syria.
Lavrov said
Russia would shortly circulate a draft council resolution to promote joint
efforts against groups like the Islamic State.
The move by
Moscow marks a major escalation in ongoing tensions between the two countries
over military action in the war-torn country and comes moments after Russian
lawmakers formally approved a request from Putin to authorize the use of troops
in Syria. Putin said previously that Russia would strike ISIS targets.
The Federation
Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, discussed Putin's request for
the authorization behind the closed doors. Sergei Ivanov, chief of Putin's
administration, said in televised remarks that the parliament voted unanimously
to approve the request.
Ivanov said the
authorization is necessary "not in order to achieve some foreign policy
goals" but "in order to defend Russia's national interests."
Putin is
obligated to request parliamentary approval for any use of Russian troops
abroad, according to the Russian Constitution. The last time he did so was
before Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.
Putin's request
comes after his bilateral meeting with Obama on the sidelines of the United
Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, where the two were discussing
Russia's recent military buildup in Syria.
A U.S. official
told Fox News Monday the two leaders agreed to discuss political transition in
Syria but were at odds over the role that Assad should play in resolving the
civil conflict. The official said Obama reiterated to Putin that he does not
believe there is a path to stability in Syria with Assad in power. Putin has
said the world needs to support Assad because his military has the best chance
to defeat ISIS militants.
Putin said the
meeting, which lasted slightly more than 90 minutes, was “very constructive,
business-like and frank".
"We are
thinking about it, and we don't exclude anything," Putin told reporters at
the time
The Kremlin
reported that Putin hosted a meeting of the Russian security council at his
residence Tuesday night outside of Moscow, saying that they were discussing
terrorism and extremism.
On Tuesday,
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called on Russia to make a real
contribution to the fight against ISIS, telling reporters at the United Nations
that Moscow "is against the terrorists, it's not abnormal to launch
strikes against them."
"The
international community has hit (ISIS). France has hit (ISIS), Assad very
little, and the Russians not at all. So one has to look at who does what,"
Fabius added.
Russia has been
a staunch supporter of Assad during Syria's bloody civil war, and multiple
reports have previously indicated that Russian troops are aiding Assad's
forces. Israel's defense minister also said earlier this month that Russian
troops are in Syria to help Assad fight the ISIS terror group.
On Wednesday,
Reuters reported that Russia's Foreign Ministry told the news agency Interfax
that a recently established operations center in Baghdad would help coordinate
airstrikes and ground troops in Syria. Fox News first reported last week that the center had been set
up by Russian, Syrian and Iranian military commanders with the goal of working
with Iranian-backed Shia militias fighting ISIS.
Over the weekend,
the Iraqi government announced that it would begin sharing "security and
intelligence" information with Russia, Syria and Iran to help combat ISIS.
Meanwhile,
intelligence sources told Fox News Friday that Iranian Quds Force commander
Qasem Soleimani met with Russian military commanders in Baghdad Sept. 22. Fox News reported earlier this month that Soleimani met Putin in Moscow
over the summer to discuss a joint military plan in Syria. "The
Russians are no longer advising, but co-leading the war in Syria," one
intelligence official said at the time. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/09/30/boots-on-ground-russian-lawmakers-back-putin-sending-troops-to-syria/
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