Reuters
Reports of heavy civilian casualties from Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria are one key reason why Washington is unlikely to co-ordinate air strikes with Moscow against Isis (also known as Islamic State – IS), US officials said, even as President Barack Obama left the door ajar to military co-operation with the Kremlin.
Appearing at a White House news conference with his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, Obama reiterated that Russia was “welcome to be part of this broad-based coalition that we've set up”.
But first, he said, it must shift its focus from propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and redirect its air strikes away from moderate rebels to hit Isis militants.
From the White House to the Pentagon, officials are concerned about widespread reports of mounting civilian casualties from Russian air strikes, even though the issue has received far less public attention than the Assad government’s use of “barrel bombs” against unarmed civilians.
The United States, by working with Moscow militarily in Syria, could be seen as complicit in the killing and wounding of civilians, US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
They also said they feared that US-Russian military co-operation would strain US ties with moderate rebel groups, some of whom Washington is backing militarily.
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the commander of US Army forces in Europe, said Putin’s openness to co-ordinating militarily with Washington is making America’s Eastern European allies uneasy.
“There is concern amongst several East European allies and Ukraine that this will allow Russia to sort of come out of its isolation,” Hodges said, referring to the international sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Further dampening prospects of US-Russian co-operation, Nato ally Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet on Tuesday.
It accused Moscow of violating its airspace as it carries out strikes against non-Isis targets across the border in Syria.
Until now, communication between the United States and Russian militaries on Syria has been limited to contacts aimed at avoiding an accidental clash in the skies as they carry out rival bombing campaigns.