In a new development that could change the dynamic of Syria's civil war, Russia has sent military aircraft to fly missions against ISIS positions in Syria. The Russian force began airstrikes Wednesday.
The U.S. military says a Russian official informed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad about the missions and also requested the American military aircraft avoid Syrian airspace during Russian operations.
The Russian military involvement follows a request from President Bashar al-Assad to President Vladimir Putin, according to Syria's state news agency, which reports that Assad asked for Russia's intervention in a letter that cited Russia's efforts to fight terrorism.
A Department of Defense official tells NPR:
"The U.S.-led coalition will continue to fly missions over Iraq and Syria as planned and in support of our international mission to degrade and destroy ISIL. "While we would welcome a constructive role by Russia in this effort, today's demarche hardly seems indicative of that sort or role and will in no way alter our operations."
Russia says it will provide only "aviation support" to Syria's army, according to the Tass news agency.
The country chose to act after receiving a request from "legitimate Syrian authorities," Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko says.
She added, "In this situation, we could not refuse Syrian President Bashar Assad and continue watching how people die, how women and children die, how historical and cultural sites are being destroyed."
Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
