Unconfirmed reports suggesting that Russia was planning to expand its military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad prompted a warning from the US that such actions could lead to a confrontation with coalition forces. In Washington, the State Department issued a statement after US Secretary of State John Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to express concern over unconfirmed reports “suggesting an imminent enhanced Russian military build-up” in Syria. While not elaborating on or confirming the accuracy of those reports, the State Department said Kerry made clear to Lavrov that such actions “could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation” with the anti-Islamic State coalition led by the US that is carrying out strikes in Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday for the first time acknowledged that his country was involved in the Syrian civil war, telling RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency, that Russia is providing “serious” training and logistical support to the Syrian army.
Earlier this week, the website The Daily Beast published an article entitled “Russia puts boots on the ground in Syria,” which claimed the Russians were doing much more than training soldiers and providing logistical support. The piece cited unnamed sources saying that Russian pilots are flying sorties on behalf of Assad, bombarding from the air enemies of the Assad regime, including Islamic State and other rebel groups.
