Russia is “doubling down” on its support for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad as a way to protect itself from Islamic extremism, which “I think is a big mistake,” President Obama told 150 service members gathered at Maryland’s Ft. Meade on Friday.
The Russians are “going to have to start getting a little smarter,” on how they counter the Islamic State, Obama said. The radical Sunni group poses a larger threat to Russia, which has “large Muslim populations that, historically, have caused a lot of problems inside of Russia,” he said.
When asked how Russian troops boosting Assad in Syria might affect the U.S., Obama said it is “not going to prevent us from continuing to go after ISIL very hard.” But, he conceded “it could prevent us from arriving at the political settlement that ultimately is needed to bring peace back to Syria.”
Russia has propped up Assad militarily for decades and maintains a base in Tartus, Syria. Now it’s bringing in equipment like armored vehicles and artillery and sending advisers, Obama said.
“That won’t change our core strategy” Obama said, but the U.S. will engage Moscow on the matter and discuss how helping Assad is a policy that is “doomed to fail.”
Obama said that even before these latest military developments, he personally told Russian President Vladimir Putin that working with Assad is bad policy.
