Four Russian attack helicopters and four Russian transport helicopters have arrived in Syria in the last day, and Russia is likewise ready to send attack jets, a senior American defense official told to NBC News on Friday.
The disclosure came hours after the top U.S. and Russian
defense officials spoke on the telephone for the 1st time in more than a year
to talk regarding the emergency situation in Syria, where Russia is building a
military presence.
Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu told his U.S. partner,
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, that the Russian buildup is "defensive in
nature," as indicated by a senior U.S. defense official.
Shoygu additionally said that the buildup was to respect
Russian commitments to the Syrian government, the official said. The official
declined to theorize that those commitments may include Russian military
support and protection of the administration of Syrian President Bashar Al
Assad.
Russian military support for the Bashar Al Assad government,
which U.S. military officials say would most likely include airstrikes against
Syrian rebels attempting to overthrow the administration, would create a
situation for the Obama administration. President Obama has long stressed that
the Assad administration "must go."
The Pentagon described the discussion between Carter and
Shoygu as helpful and said they agreed to continue talking. They talked about
ways to de-escalate the conflict in Syria and fight ISIS, the Pentagon said.
Satellite imagery on Thursday showed the last arrival of
Russian tanks and other military equipment at an air base in the Latakia beach
front district of Syria. The Pentagon said on Monday that it had seen a
"continued steady stream" of equipment and individual for over a
week.
The eight helicopters that have arrived in the last day are
based just outside Latakia, the official said.
Russia supports the President Bashar Al Assad government,
while the United States supports the insurgents fighting him in a bloody 4 year
civil war.
The United States suspended talks between its military and
the Russian military a year ago, after Russia seized the Crimean peninsula from
Ukraine.