Russia establishes contact with opposition forces in Syria

Russia, Syrian “patriotic” opposition agree on joint action against ISIS, Nusra front

Opposition fighters at the frontline on the outskirts of Kfar Lata, a ghost village in the Idlib province countryside of Syria, in October 2013. Photo AP.

Off-Guardian,

3 November, 2015

Sputnik International reports:

[…] The Russian Defense Ministry has established contacts with leaders and field commanders of a number of patriotic Syrian opposition groups, which prioritize the country’s integrity despite being opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad, [Andrei Kartapolov, a senior Russian General Staff official] said, adding that Moscow hopes that this would help to resolve the Syrian conflict.

“In the framework of a broader international coalition on the fight against terrorism in the Middle East, we have established contacts with leaders and field commanders of several opposition units. These patriotic groups which, despite fighting government forces for four years, hold the idea of preserving Syria as a united sovereign state, free from ISIL and other terrorists of all sorts, higher than their political ambitions. We hope that this step will become a turning point in the resolution of the Syrian conflict.”

The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian opposition have reached an agreement on joint action against terrorists, he said.

According to Kartapolov, the Russian air group deployed in Syria has already coordinated joint anti-terrorism efforts with the Syrian opposition by establishing reliable data exchange channels.

He emphasized that “this close cooperation allows us to unite efforts of the government troops and other patriotic forces in the Syrian Arab Republic, which had been in opposition earlier, to present a united front against a common enemy — international terrorism.”

He added that the Russian Aerospace Forces had hit 24 terrorist targets, the coordinates of which had been provided by the Syrian opposition.

“Today, the Russian Federation carried out 12 sorties against 24 terrorist targets using high explosive munition and high-precision KAB-500 bombs in the areas of Tadmur, Deir ez-Zor, Itria, and eastern Aleppo. The coordinates of all these objects were provided to us by representatives of the opposition.”

A terrorist command center, an ammunition depot, 10 strongholds and 12 artillery positions were destroyed as result of the Russian airstrikes on targets based on data shared by the Syrian opposition forces.

He noted that Russia has “repeatedly expressed readiness to cooperate with all Syrian patriotic forces fighting against ISIL and Nusra Front terrorists.” […

Senior Russian Official: After we cleaned Syria from the ISIS-Cancer, we will clean Iraq

Friends of Syria,

3 November, 2015

Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov has told reporters at the 6th Xiangshan Security Forum in the Chinese capital of Beijing that his country’s actions in Syria are in accordance with international law, and that should Iraq make a formal request for assistance in its fight against Islamic State (IS), Russia would consider it.

“In case we receive a request, we shall consider it accordingly. What I can say now is that as of today we do not have a request from Iraq like the one we have from Bashar al-Assad.”

He continued, forcing the point that Russia is working specifically against IS, and not merely pro-Syrian regime. “As there are very many insinuations about Syria, I would like to stress we have a written request from Assad for a military and military-technical assistance in fighting IS.

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“We stress we are acting on a legal base and in compliance with the international law.”

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Senior Iraqi officials have made overtures towards the Russians, expressing dismay at the perceived lack of progress being made by the US-led coalition currently targeting the jihadists in Iraq.

Hakim al-Zamili, chair of the parliamentary committee on defence and security, said earlier this month, “We might be forced to ask Russia to launch airstrikes in Iraq soon. I think in the upcoming few days or weeks Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch airstrikes and that depends on their success in Syria.”

Source: BasNews

U.S. says too soon for Syrian opposition to attend talks in Russia

al-Arabiya,

4 October, 2015

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it was premature for the Russian government to invite Syrian opposition to talks in Russia.

Russian media reported that Syrian government officials and members of the country’s splintered opposition could meet in Moscow next week.

“We think it’s premature,” State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.

She said there would come a time when it would be appropriate but that for now nations involved in diplomatic efforts on Syria’s conflict should concentrate on what was agreed on in talks last week in Vienna.