News From Antiwar.com
The Russian Coordination Center in Hmeimim said of the increased air and land transport of American military hardware, “such military mobilization, synchronized with the economic and social situation resulting from the US blockade damages opportunities for a political solution to the crisis in Syria.”
In response to the Pentagon’s criticism of alleged Russian violations of the conflict avoidance mechanism in Syria – meant to prevent incidents like the collision of American and Russian armored vehicles last summer in which several U.S. soldiers were injured – the Russian embassy in Washington rebuked the U.S. for having uninvited military forces in Syria in the first place. Its statement said: “We should note that the American military presence in Syria is illegitimate; therefore, the U.S. has no right to slam the legal procedures taken by Russian armed troops operating in Syria at the invitation of the government of this state.”