Spotlight: Russia, West divided on air raids against IS

Since Moscow launched airstrikes on the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria last Wednesday, Russian military actions have aroused different responses from Western and regional countries.

INTENSIVE AIRSTRIKES

In a new round of air raids, Russian airstrikes have destroyed an Islamic State (IS) headquarters, killing up to 40 terrorists, the Russian news agency Ria Novosti quoted a Syrian military source as saying on Tuesday.

"An IS HQ, several pick-up trucks and an infantry fighting vehicle were destroyed, some 35-40 terrorists killed as a result of a precision airstrike," the source told RIA Novosti.

Russia's Su-25 fighter jets, Su-24M and Su-34 bombers, with the support of Su-30 Flanker jets, carried out 20 sorties during its first round of air strikes last Wednesday, hitting eight targets, including a command center.

On Monday, the Russian Defense ministry said its air force stationed in Syria has conducted 25 missions in the last 24 hours hitting nine facilities of Islamic State terrorist group.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, its airstrikes have already done considerable damage to the IS command and logistics networks, as well as to the infrastructure needed to equip suicide bombers.

WESTERN ALLIANCE'S CONCERN

The United States and NATO have expressed serious concerns over Russian military actions, saying Russia is mainly striking Syria's anti-government rebels in support of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

They also accused Russia of conducting the crowded and sometimes uncoordinated air raids in Syria, urging Moscow to stop attacks against the Syrian opposition and civilians.

However, Moscow has denied such allegations, saying that it has no political agenda in Syria and that its bombing of the IS positions is inline with the U.S. priority.

On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said Washington is prepared to resume de-confliction talks with the Kremlin on military operations in Syria.

"We've seen over the last couple of days the danger that exists on the ground of accidental incursions," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said at a regular briefing. "So we need to absolutely engage with Russia on de-conflicting."

The U.S. Department of Defense also said earlier Tuesday that it stands ready to meet with its Russian counterpart again "as soon as possible."

On the other hand, NATO criticized on Monday Russia's military actions in Syria which, it said, "led to civilian casualties."

NATO said "the attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs, and Idlib which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da'esh (IS)," calling these actions violations of Turkish and NATO airspace.H The bloc also expressed "strong solidarity" with Turkey, saying it "will continue to follow the developments on the South-Eastern borders of NATO very closely."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that "Russian combat aircraft have violated Turkish airspace," which "doesn't look like an accident and we also have seen two of them during the weekend."

On Tuesday, Turkey said that eight of its F-16 jets patrolling the Syrian border were harassed by an unidentified MiG-29 and missile defense system on Monday.

This was the second similar incident after two Turkish F-16s patrolling the Syrian border were harassed by an unidentified MiG-29 on Sunday.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Russia's ambassador in Ankara again on Monday to protest the breaches, warning of "unwanted results" from similar violations.

Russian Defense Ministry on Monday blamed bad weather conditions for the brief violation of Turkish airspace, saying "The incident was a consequence of unfavorable weather conditions in the area. One should not look for any conspiracy theories here."

RUSSIA: NO POLITICAL AGENDA

Russia has no political agenda in Syria, Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko said on Tuesday while meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Amman.

"It only seeks to fight terrorist organizations including the so-called Islamic State, which represent a threat to the region, the world and Russia as well," Matviyenko said.

She said Russia strongly believes that there is no solution to the crisis in Syria except through a political one that preserves the unity and stability of Syria.

Meanwhile, the Russian military is willing to expand cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria, said Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov.

"We are firmly convinced that no country is able to cope with the common threat of terrorism alone, no matter how strong the United States, Britain, Germany and NATO are. That is why we are in favor of broader international cooperation," Antonov said on Tuesday.

Russia is ready to share specific reconnaissance data about the IS positions and activities with the anti-IS coalition, he added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday noted that Moscow and Washington have maintained high-level contacts for military operations in Syria.

Lavrov added that the IS is the enemy of all states and nations including the Islamic world, stressing that the problem of terrorism and extremism should be addressed "in a comprehensive way."

Marzieh Afkham, spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, said last week that her country considers Russia's operation as a path towards resolving the ongoing crisis in the region.

She also called for an international cooperation with the governments of Iraq and Syria to eradicate terrorism in those countries.

The Syrian president said earlier that the current Russian war on terror in Syria has high chances of success, noting that the failure of the Russia-led coalition would cause the destruction of the region.

"We have confidence that the coalition between Syria, Russia, Iran and Iraq must be destined to success, otherwise, we would face the destruction of the entire region," Assad said Sunday. Endi