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Washington: We are monitoring reports of Russian military intervention in Syria

September 4, 2015 at 11:39 am

The US is closely monitoring reports that Russia is sending military troops and fighter jets to Syria, warning that supporting Assad’s regime is “both destabilizing and counterproductive”, a White House spokesperson said yesterday.

White House spokesperson Josh Earnest told reporters: “We are aware of reports that Russia may have deployed military personnel and aircraft to Syria, and we are monitoring those reports quite closely.”

“Any military support to the Assad regime for any purpose, whether it’s in the form of military personnel, aircraft supplies, weapons, or funding, is both destabilizing and counterproductive.”

“We would welcome Russia’s involvement in the international coalition established to counter Islamic State and in diplomatic efforts to end the brutal civil war,” Earnest said.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied reports that Moscow was deploying fighter jets to Syrian territories. “It is enough to say that the Russian Ministry of Defence and the Kremlin have firmly denied this and their denial is enough.”

“I would like to stress once again that we have provided various types of support and aid to Syria in its war on terrorism, and we will continue to provide support to it as a member state of the UN and in full accordance with international law,” she stressed during a press conference.