FSA and Kurdiah group ask for Russina aid in fight agaisnt ISIS

Free Syrian Army Command Asks Russia for Help Against ISIL

The representative of the Euphrates Volcano command of the FSA and the Kurdish YPG told Sputnik that the command supports Russia's operation against ISIL and requests military help

Sputnik News,

5 October, 2015, 14.35 MT

The Eurphrates Volcano (Burqan al-Furat) command of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) supports Russia's military operation in Syria and for help in battling ISIL, the command's official spokesman Servan Devrish told Sputnik.

Euphrates Volcano is the joint command of the FSA and the Kurdish YPG (People's Protection Units) operating in northern Syria, primarily against the Islamic State. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov previously said that Russia is willing to make contacts with the Syrian armed opposition Free Syrian Army, but requested further information on it from the United States, referring to the FSA's "phantom nature."

"The Islamic State is a large-scale organization which presents an enormous threat for all, because of this only a comprehensive and well-prepared operation can be effective. We support Russia's anti-terrorist operation against ISIL and consider it an extremely important step for eliminating this threat," Euphrates Volcano spokesman Servan Devrish told Sputnik.

Devrish added that it is impossible to destroy ISIL with airstrikes alone, and that Euphrates Volcano as well as Kurdish Peshmerga units have been most effective at fighting ISIL with aid from airstrikes delivered by the anti-ISIL coalition.

"We ask Russia to help us with weaponry in the fight against ISIL. By uniting our forces in the framework of an aerial and ground operation, we can carry out shattering strikes against ISIL," Devrish told Sputnik.

The Eurphates Volcano command previously fought ISIL in several large-scale battles, including the siege of Kobani, where it successfully retook the city from ISIL.

Also on Monday, several Syrian rebel groups called on regional states to ally against Russia and Iran in Syria, Reuters reported. The groups who signed on to the statement included the Ahrar Al-Sham Islamist rebel group, as well as some groups "under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army," according to Reuters

Moscow ready for contact with Free Syrian Army - FM Lavrov

RT,

5 October, 2015 10.25 MT

Russia is ready for contact with the Free Syrian Army, but it is now a 'phantom,' Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said at a news conference following talks with his Laos counterpart in Moscow.

"They tell us about the Free Syrian Army, but where is it?  It remains a phantom group, nothing is known about it,"Lavrov said, adding that Russia has sent a request about the group to the United States.

"We will be ready to establish contact with it if it’s really a capable military group of patriotic opposition consisting of Syrians. We do not hide this fact. But this structure is already a phantom. I have asked [State Secretary] John Kerry to provide us with information about the whereabouts of this Free Syrian Army and who commands it," said Lavrov.

READ MORE: RT EXCLUSIVE: First-hand look at Russian 'smart bombs' used in Syria against ISIS

"So far no one has told us where and how this Free Syrian Army operates or where and how other units of the so-called moderate opposition operate."

The minister also said that Moscow has asked the United States for details on the army. 

Russia’s top diplomat also said he knows of no US intentions to undermine Moscow's efforts in Syria. 

“I haven’t heard about the plans to undermine our work in Syria from the US side or from anyone else,” Lavrov said at the news conference. He added that Russia had established contacts with the US on the Syrian situation at presidential level, as well as at defense and foreign minister levels.

BREAKING: Russian jets make 25 sorties,hit 9 #ISIS facilities in Syria in last 24 hourshttp://t.co/rmfxPgRRcDpic.twitter.com/EzrdTsIb82

— RT (@RT_com) October 5, 2015

Sergey Lavrov also warned of any attempts to topple Syrian President Assad.

“The overthrow of the ruling regime in Damascus would be a most violent breach of the UN Security Council resolution, which approved the Geneva communiqué of June 30, 2012. This communiqué sets out only peaceful political and diplomatic means to solve the Syrian crisis,” he said. “That’s why recent calls from several capitals for the conflict to be solved militarily are a breach of international law,” the Russian foreign minister added.