Russia has dramatically intensified its 10-day-old bombing campaign. Moscow says it is targeting the Islamic State militant group, but most of its strikes have hit other rebel factions fighting against Assad, some of which have the support of Arab powers, Turkey or the United States.
The Russian bombing has been accompanied by a major advance led by Syrian government forces, backed by thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah militiamen and hundreds of Iranian troops, shifting the balance of power in the civil war.
Russia’s intervention has infuriated Assad’s regional foes, including most Arab countries and Turkey.
In his biggest effort yet to reach out to Assad’s Arab foes, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who holds a senior post in the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates.
At the meeting on the sidelines of a Formula One motor race in Russia’s Sochi resort, Putin said he welcomed the opportunity to discuss security in the region, particularly in the light of bombings on Saturday that killed up to 128 people in Turkey.
In a television interview quoted by Interfax news agency, Putin said he did not want to take sides in a religious conflict in Syria. Assad is a member of the Alawite minority sect derived from Shi’ite Islam, and his regional allies are Shi’ites, while Sunni Muslim states oppose him and back mainly Sunni rebels.
Turkey, a NATO member which has accused Russian aircraft of violating its air space during the bombing campaign, said Syrian jets and missile systems had harassed its fighters at the border on Saturday in the latest incident.
Moscow said its officials had held a second video conference with counterparts from the United States to ensure that flights would be safe. The former Cold War foes are both flying combat missions in the same air space for the first time since World War Two.
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