British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said Russia’s military intervention in Syria is propping up Bashar al-Assad rather than tackling ISIS, the Press Association reported.
Michael Fallon said the vast majority of strikes carried out by Russian forces had not been aimed at Isis but were instead killing civilians and the Free Syrian Army forces rebelling against Assad’s regime.
Fallon acknowledged that Russian involvement had “complicated” the situation but indicated that he still believed Britain should extend its own bombing campaign to target Isis in Syria.
In an interview with the Sun, he said initial Ministry of Defence intelligence suggested only one in 20 Russian airstrikes so far were targeting Isis.
“We’re analysing where the strikes are going every morning,” he said. “The vast majority are not against Isis at all.
“Our evidence indicates they are dropping unguided munitions in civilian areas, killing civilians, and they are dropping them against the Free Syrian forces fighting Assad.”
Fallon said the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was “shoring up Assad and perpetuating the suffering”.
Fallon suggested that the changed circumstances would not prevent the government pressing ahead with making the case to extend into Syria the RAF’s current strikes against Isis in Iraq.
It would be “morally wrong” not to target Isis in Syria, he said. “We can’t leave it to French and Australian, American aircraft to keep our own British streets safe.”