Russia criticizes U.S. over airstrikes that hit Syrian forces
Russia's Foreign Ministry sharply criticized the
United States on Sunday, one day after the U.S. military acknowledged it may have mistakenly struck and killed dozens of Syrian government forces.
The U.S. military said it halted a series of airstrikes Saturday in eastern Syria after Russia warned the United States that it had bombed a Syrian military position, killing more than 60 soldiers. The incident also raises question about whether the week-old cease-fire agreement is in jeopardy.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in a statement, accused the United States of being obstructive and deceptive during an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Saturday night about the airstrike by coalition warplanes.
The Americans “not only turned out to be unable to give an adequate explanation of what happened, but also tried, as is their custom, to turn everything upside down,” the ministry said.
After the U.N. Security Council meeting, Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, criticized Russia for its reaction. “Even by Russian standards, tonight’s stunt, a stunt replete with moralizing and grand-standing, is uniquely cynical and hypocritical,” she said.
For five years, the Syrian regime has intentionally struck civilian targets, blocked food aid, tortured tens of thousands and used chemical weapons against its own people, Power said. “And yet in the face of none of these atrocities has Russia expressed outrages, nor has it demanded investigations," she said.
A U.S. official said Sunday that the airstrikes Saturday were in an area believed to be where the Islamic State was operating, and the desired effect was to destroy the militants' fighting positions, weapons and equipment.
The official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the incident, said the pilots were given a window of 67 minutes to conduct the attacks. The Russians did not notify the United States that coalition aircraft were hitting Syrian military positions until 55 minutes into the airstrike, the official said.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement Saturday that the coalition's air operations center had notified the Russians that coalition aircraft would be operating in the area at the time, and the Russians had not voiced concerns.
The U.S. military regularly talks with the Russians to avoid mishaps in the air, but the two countries don't cooperate on targets or military operations.
Power said U.S. officials were investigating the incident. “If we determine that we did indeed strike Syrian military personnel, that was not our intention. And we of course regret the loss of life,” Power said at U.N. headquarters in New York Saturday evening.
The Russian Defense Ministry said 62 Syrians were killed, and the Syrian government said the coalition airstrike allowed the Islamic State to advance around Deir el-Zour province where the attack took place.
The accusations came nearly a week after the United States and Russia initiated a fragile cease-fire agreement in Syria designed to lead to broader military cooperation between the two countries in Syria.
The cease-fire, which began Monday at sundown in Syria, does not apply to attacks on the Islamic State or al-Qaeda affiliates in the country. Under the agreement, if the cease-fire holds for a week and humanitarian supplies reach needy civilians, then the U.S. and Russia's armed forces would begin exploring broader military cooperation.
Both sides have alleged dozens of violations of the cease-fire agreement, and aid convoys have been unable to enter rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo.
Coalition forces "would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit," U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said in a statement. "The coalition will review this strike and the circumstances surrounding it to see if any lessons can be learned."
The U.S. military said it believed it was attacking Islamic State forces with the airstrikes. Central Command said “the airstrike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military.”
The Syrian General Command called the purported attack a "serious and blatant aggression" against Syria and its army, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
In Moscow, Russia's Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said the aircraft that carried out the bombings — two F16 jet fighters and two A-10 support aircraft — had entered Syrian airspace from Iraqi territory. The U.S. military did not comment on the Russian claims.
The incident could make it difficult for Washington to press Moscow on the cease-fire. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday questioned the U.S. commitment to the shaky truce, suggesting that Washington wasn’t prepared to break with “terrorist elements” battling Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces.