Russian troops are already on the ground in Syria helping the government beat back the Islamic State, according to an Associated Press report.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Thursday that Russian ground forces and military advisers are already in the country aiding Syrian President Bashar Assad in the fight against the Islamic State as well as the broader civil war in Syria that has raged for five years, the article said.
Russia’s main goal will be setting up an air base there from which troops could launch strikes, as well as protecting its own navy base in Syria, according to the report.
“As far as we understand, at this stage we are talking about a limited force that includes advisers, a security team and preparations for operating planes and combat helicopters,” Yaalon told reporters in Jerusalem, the AP report said.
When asked about suspected Russian involvement in Syria at a briefing on Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said that while the administration welcomed any countries to participate in the fight against the Islamic State, any support for the Assad regime could be even more harmful to the region.
“Our concern would be any effort to bolster the Assad regime right now would potentially be destabilizing,” he said. “So that’s our primary concern here, that it’s not going to bolster the fight against the Islamic State. Our focus is on fighting ISIL, and we think that further support for the Assad regime could actually be counterproductive.”
