© www.rt.comA Sukhoi-34 jet
[Editor's note: Go to full article and read timeline from the bottom up.]
30 September 2015
19:21 GMT
"There is an illogical contradiction in the Russian position, and now its actions in Syria," Carter said. He has reportedly described Russia's operation as essentially "pouring gasoline on [the] fire."
19:10 GMT
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter would not say if the US gave Russia any advance warning of coalition airstrikes over Aleppo on Wednesday, but said that the talks between the two countries' defense ministries would cover what kinds of information should be exchanged going forward to avoid incidents of friendly fire. US-led airstrikes in Syria will continue despite Russia's actions, Carter said, adding that the coalition doesn't "intend to make any changes in our air operations."
19:00 GMT
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that Pentagon had no confirmations of reports of civilian casualties during airstrikes carried out by Russia on Wednesday. He noted that the US and its coalition partners make sure that there are no civilian casualties when performing their strikes, despite reports of the contrary.
18:58 GMT
Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said that the US believes it is impossible to both fight Islamic State in Syria and support President Bashar Assad at the same time because it "only risks escalating the civil war in Syria," and "is tantamount... to pouring gasoline on the fire." Therefore a "political transition" from the Assad regime must be one of the aims of intervention, he said.
18:41 GMT
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is sending a Defense Department team to meet with their counterparts in Russia "to ensure that we avoid any inadvertent incidents over Syrian airspace." He said that he believes that the talks to de-conflict the situation there will be "very constructive."
18:39 GMT
Germany does not want the UN to split over the Syrian issue and has called on everyone to support political changes in Syria, said German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
18:38 GMT
France welcomes everyone willing to collaborate with the anti-terrorist coalition in Syria but only on certain conditions, French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said. He also claimed that an inquiry should be made into the Russian air strikes in Syria. "If they [the air strikes] really targeted Islamic State... it is welcomed," Fabius said, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
18:38 GMT
"Those, who are really willing to win in Syria, should cooperate and coordinate their actions with the Syrian government, the country's army is fighting terrorists doing its duty," Walid Muallem said at the UN Security Council meeting, adding that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and "some Western countries" support and finance illegal armed groups fighting in Syria.
18:37 GMT
Russia has struck eight Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) targets in Syria, the country's Defense Ministry said, adding that civilian infrastructure was avoided during the operations.
17:52 GMT
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond welcomed Russia's intent to use force against Islamic State militants in Syria. However, he stressed that Moscow must confirm its air strikes actually targeted Islamic State and Al-Qaeda-linked groups, not Western-backed rebel fighters. "Actions in support of the [Syrian] regime are incompatible with the effective prosecution of the war against ISIL in Syria," Hammond told the UN Security Council.
17:08 GMT
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington would have "grave concerns" if Russian airstrikes hit Syrian targets where Islamic State fighters were not present. Speaking at the UN Security Council, Kerry once again stated that IS "cannot be defeated as long as Bashar Assad remains president of Syria." The airstrikes by the US-led coalition in Syria will continue despite the start of the Russian operation, he added.
16:54 GMT
The US regards the actions of Russian aviation in Syria as "dangerous," since no "deconfliction" talks have yet been held between the two country's militaries, a U.S. official told Reuters.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart have discussed the situation on the phone.
16:54 GMT
The NATO press service has confirmed that the block was notified by Moscow about its plan to provide military assistance to Syria.
16:27 GMT
Damascus has full trust in Russia's and President Putin's stance on tackling terrorism in Syria, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said.
16:27 GMT
Russia has "officially informed NATO leadership" about the beginning of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, Russia's permanent mission to the alliance told Tass.
16:18 GMT
Stovepiping in the western media about Russian operation in Syria had taken place even before the upper chamber of the Russian parliament approved the use of the country's military in Syria, the Russian Foreign ministry said. "This is the information war, for which somebody has prepared fairly well," said Maria Zakharova, head of the press department of Russia's Foreign Ministry.
15:41 GMT
Moscow's decision to deploy the Russian Air Force in Syria is an important positive step in fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Sputnik news agency. "Yes, any development against Daesh [Islamic State]," Zarif said. "It is important. It will move people to decide about the real political solution, so it [the war] comes to its end," the Iranian minister added.
14:52 GMT
Moscow believes it's necessary to include Islamic State and those who support them in the UN Security Council's anti-terrorist sanction list, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said at a UN Security Council meeting in New York. "Delays in addressing this obvious issue are becoming counterproductive in terms of the effectiveness of counter-terrorism efforts of the United Nations," Lavrov said.
14:20 GMT
US planes continue to fly in Syria despite Russia's warning to clear the airspace, a US official told Reuters.
14:16 GMT
Russia will deliver preemptive strikes against terrorists, Vladimir Putin said. According to the Russian president, Moscow is interested in other nations joining its counterterrorism effort in Syria. Those willing to do so can join the intelligence sharing center in Baghdad, which Russia, Syria, Iraq and Iran established in the run-up to the operation, the president said. "All our partners have been informed about the plans and actions of Russia on Syrian situation," he said.
14:03 GMT
Russian airstrikes in Syria do not appear to be targeting areas controlled by IS militants, a US official told Reuters.
14:03 GMT
Russia has informed the US embassy in Baghdad about the use of the Russian Air Force in Syria, the Pentagon official told RIA Novosti.
14:03 GMT
The coordination center in Iraq will monitor the airstrikes on positions of Islamic State, Riad Haddad, Syria's ambassador to Moscow told TASS. "The coalition of US and their allies hasn't yielded any results. The geographic territory of IS is expanding, they have captured and continue capturing more cities and villages."
14:02 GMT
The North Atlantic Council [NATO] is monitoring Russian military in Syria and "will continue doing so," an official from the alliance press service told TASS.
14:02 GMT
US sources said Russia has already started military operation against Islamic State militants in Syria. The official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Russia gave the US 60 minutes' notice of the operations.
14:01 GMT
Deputy Foreign Minister Mihail Bogdanov said Russia will inform its foreign partners of its game plan in Syria"during the course of the day."
14:00 GMT
The bombing campaign is time-limited, the head of the presidential administration Sergey Ivanov told media. He said he was not authorized to disclose details of the operation such as the number of warplanes involved. "All our partners and allies will be informed about our decision today through corresponding military channels. Specific military information will be provided as well, I believe," he said.
13:58 GMT
Russia's upper chamber has given the go-ahead to President Putin's request to send military aid to Syria in the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), said Sergey Ivanov, the Kremlin's cabinet chief. "The President of the Syrian Arab Republic has appealed to our government with a request for military assistance... There is a need to fight terrorism, and to unite our efforts. But in so doing, we must remain mindful of international law," Ivanov told reporters. He also said the US and France had circumvented international law with their campaign of airstrikes in Syria for some time, as no UN resolution had been secured.
11:15 GMT
Military engagement in Syria would not result in Russia being mired in conflict, Konstantin Kosachev, head of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, said commenting on the news. "We would not risk getting stuck in a long conflict and threaten the lives of our troops. The operation is aerial only. Certainly, in coordination with the ground operation of the Syrian army," he told the Rossiya 24 news channel.
10:06 GMT
The request for use of force was sent by the president after considering the large number of Russian citizens and neighboring countries, who went to join terrorist groups fighting in Syria, head of the presidential administration Sergey Ivanov told media. "This is not about reaching for some foreign policy goals, satisfying ambitions, which our Western partners regularly accuse us of. It's only about the national interest of the Russian Federation," the official said. He added that no ground operations are expected for Syria. "The military goal of the operation is strictly to provide air support for the [Syrian] government forces in their fight against Islamic State," he said.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter