Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday to support the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but one defense official pointed out that Moscow is not going after the Islamic State.
U.S. officials said Russian military aircraft conducted strikes near Homs, Syria, a city where there are no Islamic State fighters.
“We just know that it’s by deduction not ISIL,” one official said. “ISIL is not in Homs, they’re striking Homs, therefore it’s not ISIL.”
It’s unclear how many strikes have occurred or what the specific Russian targets are, the official said.
A Russian general walked across the street to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Wednesday morning to say the Russians would begin flying strikes, the official said. The general also requested that the U.S. remain clear of the airspace over all of Syria.
The U.S. disregarded the request and is flying anti-Islamic State missions over Syria on Wednesday as far west as Aleppo, the official said. The Russians have spent weeks building up their military presence in Syria, flying equipment, including combat jets, and advisers to bolster Assad’s regime.
The U.S. has said it would welcome Russian participation in the coalition striking the Islamic State in Syria, but President Obama has maintained that any long-lasting political solution to the civil war in Syria is dependent on Assad’s removal from power. The U.S. is training and equipping moderate Syrian rebels who reject Assad’s rule, but has made them promise to fight only the Islamic State, not Assad.
Russia, on the other hand, has said it will support Assad’s regime and help defend it against those moderate Syrian rebel groups trying to strip him of power.
Asked about the safety of U.S. pilots continuing to fly over Syria, the official said deconfliction isn’t necessary now since the U.S. is flying missions over Islamic State-controlled areas in eastern Syria, while the Russians are striking in Assad’s territory to the west. Future operations, however, may make it necessary to talk to the Russians to keep planes from getting too close.
“Certainly we recognize going forward the need to have something in place to deconflict our operations,” the official said.
Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in New York during the United Nations General Assembly. Defense Secretary Ash Carter also spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, on Sept. 18.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the Russian airstrikes will only prolong the civil war that has killed and displaced hundreds of thousands of Syrians by keeping Assad in power for longer.
“The use of Russian military force in Syria adds a troubling new development to a war effort already plagued with problems,” said Schiff, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
