Talks to ensure safety in Syrian skies
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THE United States and Russia have agreed to hold new talks on avoiding incidents in the skies over Syria, as government forces launched heavy attacks against rebels near Damascus.
Fighting was also reported in the northern city of Aleppo, where jihadists from the Islamic State group were making advances against other rebel fighters.
The US-Russia talks move comes after the Pentagon said American and Russian planes came within kilometers of each other on Saturday, making visual contact as the countries wage separate air wars over Syria.
Russia’s air campaign, launched on September 30, has raised fears of a military incident with the US-led coalition that has been bombing IS in Syria and Iraq for more than a year.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the talks between the US and Russian militaries would aim to ensure Moscow follows “basic safety procedures” over Syria.
“Even as we continue to disagree on Syria policy, we should be able to at least agree on making sure our airmen are as safe as possible,” Carter said.
Colonel Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the coalition, told reporters that Saturday’s incident saw coalition and Russian planes just “miles apart” over Syria.
“Visual identification took place. All pilots conducted themselves appropriately and everyone went about their business,” he said.
“But this is dangerous right?” he added. “There’s always going to be some risk if there are uncoordinated actors in the battle space.”
Despite the planned talks, Moscow said yesterday that Washington had declined to host a high-ranking Russian delegation or to send a team to hold separate broader discussions on Syria.
“We have been told that they can’t send a delegation to Moscow and they can’t host a delegation in Washington either,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told parliament.
Russia’s intervention has raised the stakes in the Syrian conflict, which has left more than 245,000 dead and forced millions from their homes since it erupted in March 2011.
Moscow insists it is targeting IS, which has emerged as the pre-eminent jihadist group during the conflict and seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. It said yesterday that Russian jets had hit 40 IS targets in five Syrian provinces over the preceding 24 hours.
In Damascus on Tuesday, Russia’s embassy was struck by two rockets reportedly fired from rebel-held territory on the eastern edges of the capital. There were no reports of casualties.
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