Talks with the United States on coordination of military actions in Syria are going slower than Russia would like and Washington is not ready for real coordination with Russian forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
"In regard to Russian-American coordination in the fight against terrorism,
this coordination has not yet been formed completely. There is progress in terms of agreeing actions when already on the battlefield in the Syrian airspace, but
we are moving slower than [Moscow] would like," Lavrov told reporters.
"At first, they were ready just for a mechanism to avoid incidents, then they agreed to establish a communication channel to exchange information about who had joined the ceasefire.
But they are not ready yet for real combat coordination," he added.
Comment: Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed SDF, who are currently launching an offensive on Raqqa, and who took over an important
strategic town and several villages yesterday, say they are debating whether or not to cooperate with the Russians in the offensive. SDF spokesman
Talal Selo: "The Syrian Democratic Forces General Staff, in coordination with the US-led international coalition, will decide whether to accept the proposal of cooperation with the Russians, or the operation will be continued only by us and the international coalition. The alliance [SDF] and the coalition will make a decision on the issue."
Why are the Americans so hesitant? They want the same thing - the defeat of Daesh - right? Not quite.
This might have something to do with it:
The Syrian city of Raqqa will become a part of the Federal Democratic System of Rojava and Northern Syria following its liberation from Daesh terrorists, a representative of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Iraqi Kurdistan, Gharib Hassou, said Thursday.
...
"Since the assault on Raqqa is carried out by the SDF, it makes sense that after its recapture, the city will become a part of the democratic federal system created by us in northern Syria," Hassou told RIA Novosti. The Syrian government cannot do anything to oppose the city joining the Kurdish federal system, as "the Syrian army failed to do something with the terrorists in Raqqa," Hassou said. He noted that the Syrian army was not taking part in the offensive to retake Raqqa.
Ahh, the spoils of war... John Kerry must be cackling with Plan B glee.
Comment: Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed SDF, who are currently launching an offensive on Raqqa, and who took over an important strategic town and several villages yesterday, say they are debating whether or not to cooperate with the Russians in the offensive. SDF spokesman Talal Selo: "The Syrian Democratic Forces General Staff, in coordination with the US-led international coalition, will decide whether to accept the proposal of cooperation with the Russians, or the operation will be continued only by us and the international coalition. The alliance [SDF] and the coalition will make a decision on the issue."
Why are the Americans so hesitant? They want the same thing - the defeat of Daesh - right? Not quite. This might have something to do with it: Ahh, the spoils of war... John Kerry must be cackling with Plan B glee.