October 27, 2015 – Syrian rebels from three groups contacted by Reuters acknowledged that new supplies had arrived in response to the attack by the Syrian army, which is backed up by Russian air strikes and on the ground by Iranian and Lebanon’s Hezbollah mercenaries.
After several rounds of talks between US and Russia that began more than a week ago, the two sides agreed to a number of air safety protocols including “maintaining professional airmanship” and the use of specific aircraft communications frequencies, Cook said. The two countries also agreed to keep a “safe distance” between aircraft since Russian and U.S. warplanes have flown too close to each other in the past few weeks. A U.S.-Russia working group will be formed to deal with any implementation issues that arise, he added.
Russian Federation has said its air campaign is aimed at helping the government defeat the IS group and other “terrorists”, but numerous strikes have targeted Syrian rebels in areas where the extremist group is not present. Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said that the understanding “shows a big potential for cooperation between Russian Federation and the U.S., including in the fight against terrorism, which we are ready to expand and deepen”. “In fact, far from it, we continue to believe that Russia’s strategy in Syria is counterproductive, and their support for the Assad regime will only make Syria’s civil war worse”.
Asked if USA pilots could fire on Russian aircraft that threatened them, Cook said “aircrews always have the right to defend themselves”, but that this memo would hopefully prevent the situation from escalating to that point.
Activists meanwhile said that Russian airstrikes killed at least 45 people in a Syrian coastal province, including a rebel commander who formerly served in President Bashar Assad’s army. It is also said to have received substantial funding from Riyadh.