Russian parliament approves use of troops in Syria

ANKARA

The upper house of the Russian parliament has voted unanimously to give President Vladimir Putin the authority to use the country’s military in Syria.

The Russian Federation Council gave its consent, which is required under Russian constitution for foreign combat missions, Wednesday.

Head of presidential administration Sergey Ivanov told the media that Russia would be involved only in air-support operations against Daesh in Syria.

“The military goal of the operation is strictly to provide air support for the [Syrian] government forces in their fight against Islamic State [Daesh],” Ivanov was quoted by the state-television Russia Today.

Ivanov clarified that no ground operations were being planned by Russia in Syria. He said that Russia would use its jets “to hit terrorist targets when requested by the Syrian government”.

He added that the bombing campaign was limited for a certain period of time, but declined to specify the exact deadline for it.

He also reiterated the Russian position that the country’s military actions in Syria were legal because it came supposedly at the request of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

Earlier, in an interview aired on Monday in the American television channel CBS and PBS, Putin said: “Russia will not take part in any field operations on the territory of Syria or in other states; at least, we do not plan it for now”.

In the interview transcript released by the Kremlin, Putin had also said that there were more than “2,000 militants in Syria from the former Soviet Union”.

"Instead of waiting for them to return back home we should help President al-Assad fight them there, in Syria," he added.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon said that the U.S. would open its "lines of communication" with Russia to de-conflict air operations in Syria.

"The purpose of these de-confliction discussions will be to ensure that ongoing coalition air operations are not interrupted by any future Russian military activity, to ensure the safety of coalition air crews and to avoid misjudgment and miscalculation," spokesman Peter Cook said.

The announcement came a day after President Barack Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the UN.

Obama wants al-Assad to be replaced as part of a political solution to end the crisis, but Putin told delegates at the UN that the Syrian president should remain in power and be supported in the fight against Daesh.

Russia has supported the Assad regime since the crisis began in 2011, and recently deployed arms and troops in the war-torn country to conduct a campaign against Daesh, in cooperation with Iran, Iraq and Assad regime.

Differences aside, Washington is seeking Russia’s inclusion in a coalition of more than 60 nations committed to fighting the militants. The U.S.-led coalition is pounding Daesh targets in Syria and Iraq since mid-September 2014.