Russian Defense Minister: Moscow Suggests Joint Airstrikes against Terrorists in Syria with US-Led Coalition

MOSCOW- Russia suggests that the US-led coalition fighting against the so-called “Islamic State” in Iraq and Syria should fly joint missions with Russia in Syria, the Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said, according to RT.

“Taking such a step would help the progress of the peaceful settlement in Syria. Of course such measures have been agreed with the Syrian Arab Republic. Yesterday we started negotiating these measures with our colleagues in Oman and Geneva,” Shoigu told journalists, referring to a US center for peace negotiations based in the Jordanian capital and the city in Switzerland, where UN-backed peace negotiations are under way.

 “We suggest to the US… starting on May 25, joint action of the Russian Air Forces and the US-led coalition forces to plan and conduct strikes against the Al-Nusra Front, which does not support the ceasefire, as well as against convoys of arms and fighters crossing the Syrian-Turkish border,” he said.

Shoigu warned that, starting from next Wednesday, Russia would feel free to use its warplanes to attack any group that failed to back the ceasefire.

 “Starting May 25, we reserve the right to unilaterally conduct airstrikes against forces of the international terrorist organizations and militant groups who didn’t join the truce,” the Russian minister warned.

The suggestion puts the US in a difficult situation from a legal and public relations standpoint. The airstrikes Washington conducts in Syria are illegal because the US has neither a mandate from the UN Security Council nor an invitation from Damascus to use force in a sovereign nation’s territory.

Joint Russian-US missions would technically require legal permission from Damascus to Washington.

 A cessation of hostilities declared in Syria is part of the peaceful settlement process, but it is not observed by some armed groups in Syria, including the terrorist organizations “Islamic State” and “Al-Nusra Front”. Attacks on government forces and armed groups, which pledged to observe the cessation of hostilities, happen on regular basis in the country.

H.M