British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond
"Watching Putin as Defense Minister and now as Foreign Minister, I realized that no matter how long you watch, you will not be able to see anything - completely impermeable. We have no idea what the Kremlin's strategy is. We don't know," said Hammond.
Hammond also said that it is difficult to discern whether the position of the Kremlin changed to support Assad, "because it is impossible to read Putin."
In Syria, since March 2011, armed conflict continues, which, according to the UN, has killed more than 220 thousand people. Government troops confront militants from various armed groups, the most active of the terrorist groups being "Islamic State" and "Jabhat al-Nusra" (banned in Russia and several other countries). From September 30th, Russia, at the request of Assad, has conducted airstrikes on the objects of both groups.
The U.S seeks the resignation of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and therefore opposes any decision to provide any help. For its part, Russia has repeatedly called for "an international coalition" to cooperate with the Syrian authorities under the auspices of the UN Security Council to combat ISIS. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow has never concealed their mission and will continue to provide military support for the leadership of the Syria to combat terrorism in accordance with existing contracts and international law.
Translated by Ollie Richardson for Fort Russ
“It’s a source of constant grief to me that everything we are doing is being undermined by the Russians.”
“Russian president Vladimir Putin is undermining international efforts to end the Syrian civil war by bombing opponents of Islamic State in an attempt to bolster Bashar al-Assad.”
And he told Syrian refugees in a camp he visited that Putin has decimated their fellow Syrians:
"The Russian air strikes are causing hundreds of civilian casualties in indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas away from the frontline. ... Russia’s intervention had been a major setback for international efforts to find a political solution to the crisis, Hammond said. The effect of the intervention was to strengthen Islamic State. [Link]
Now it turns out the US-led coalition is bombing populated areas in and around Raqqa - where it says it never goes - no doubt in order to accuse Russia of these atrocities (See latest Russian press briefing)
And this may be why Hammond is spreading this "news."