MOSCOW – (CNN) Vladimir Putin just confirmed what many suspected — that Russian airstrikes in Syria are meant to bolster President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
But exactly how they’re doing that remains a point of contention: Are Russians really focused on pummeling ISIS, or are they targeting Syrian rebels demanding an end to the al-Assad dynasty?
“Our task is to stabilize the legitimate government and to create conditions for a political compromise … by military means, of course,” Putin told the state-run Russia 24 TV.
“The units of international terrorists and their ilk have no desire to negotiate with the Syrian government, who is almost sieged in its own capital.”
Russia has said it’s coordinating with al-Assad’s regime to target ISIS other terrorists. Al-Assad has used the term “terrorists” to describe Syrians who seek his ouster.
Since launching its first airstrikes in Syria last month, Russia has flown dozens of combat missions and conducted more than 100 airstrikes, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
On Sunday, Russian air forces targeted 63 ISIS positions, including 53 strongholds, a command center, four training camps and seven ammunition depots, the ministry said.
A day earlier, Russian air forces struck 55 ISIS targets, including “the main and largest ISIS logistics centers,” ammunition depots and training camps, the ministry said.
Russia maintains that ISIS is its main target in Syria.
But CNN military analyst Lt. Col. Rick Francona said he has no doubt Russia is actually targeting Syrian rebels, rather than ISIS.
“I think it’s very apparent from the target sets that we’re watching. Even the maps that are released from the Russians themselves show where they’re concentrating their airstrikes,” Francona said.
“And if you look at the map where they are hitting, most of them are concentrated in that area between Hama and Aleppo — and that’s where the Syrian rebels have had success over the past two months.”
He said the Russian airstrikes haven’t really hurt ISIS much.
“Yeah, they’ve hit a couple of (ISIS) targets,” Francona said. “But that’s to put a fig leaf on this.”
But Russia’s military role in Syria will not involve a ground operation, Putin said.
“We’re not going to do it, and our Syrian friends know about it,” he told state TV.
Putin also said Russia has no reason to get involved in Syria’s civil war.
“It is not about the foreign policy. Russian foreign policy is peace-loving without any exaggeration,” Putin said.
“If you look at the world map, and see what Russia is, it becomes obvious that we do not need any foreign territories or foreign natural resources. Russia is a self-sufficient country. We do not need someone to fight and conflict with.”
The U.S. and Russia are diametrically opposed to how they view al-Assad’s regime. The U.S. says al-Assad needs to go, but Russia has been a longtime ally of Syria during the decades of Assad family rule.
But Putin said he’d be willing to join forces with the U.S. in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
“We need to work together to bring, as I said, a full exchange of intelligence information,” Putin said.
“He repeated his offer to cooperate with the United States in carrying out attacks in Syria, Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s refused.
Putin criticized the U.S. program to train Syrian rebels, which Carter admitted this summer trained only a handful of the thousands the United States had hoped to train.
U.S. officials said Friday the $500 million program will be suspended.
“I wish they gave us $500 million. We would have spent it better in terms of fighting against international terrorism — it’s true,” Putin told state TV.
He also dismissed the notion that Russia is trying to wipe out Syrian dissidents who oppose al-Assad.
“In response to the accusations against us that we carry out airstrikes on the moderate opposition, and not on ISIS and other terrorist organizations, we respond: Let’s say you know better the situation on the ground. You’ve been there for more than a year illegally. Just give us targets, and we’ll work them out.”
The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2015 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. (PHOTO: Cia Pak/UN)
