The Kremlin has said there are no Russian troops in combat roles in Syria, though it has said there are trainers and advisers working alongside the Syrian military and also forces guarding Russia’s bases in western Syria.
But U.S. defence officials say most of Moscow’s air strikes have been targeting secular rebels in a bid to aid Kremlin ally President Bashar al Assad.
Although the two countries have agreed on air safety rules, their takeaways on the agreement differed greatly.
Customarily, neither the government, the state agencies, nor the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) directly cited the PKK by name in official statements, describing it instead as either “the separatist terrorist organization” or its members as “terrorists”.
The arrangement announced Tuesday “does nothing to assuage our concerns about Russian military activities in Syria“, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
At the press conference, Cook gave a broad overview of the agreement, but mentioned that the U.S. accepted Russia’s request to keep the details of the text secret.
In Washington, Pentagon also reported that the two countries had signed the memorandum of understanding. “We continue to believe that Russia’s strategy in Syria is counterproductive, and their support for the Assad regime will only make Syria’s civil war worse”, asserted Cook.
Moscow reiterated that the U.S.-led coalition carried out airstrikes in Syria without the consent of the Syrian government or legal resolutions made by the United Nations Security Council.
Asked if USA pilots could fire on Russian aircraft that threatened them, Cook said “aircrews always have the right to defend themselves”, but that this memo would hopefully prevent the situation from escalating to that point.
Any “potential aggressor should take note of the capabilities and the readiness that we’re demonstrating”, said Vershbow. T”I think they know we don’t need more of Charlie Crist”.
While Turkey wants fresh funding, it should not be expected to turn itself into a “concentration camp” for refugees, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday. “They are hitting us on the grounds of Daesh, but they are hitting the ones who do them most damage – the Free Syrian Army”, said Ahmad, speaking from the area via an internet messaging system.
