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| Putin Says U.S. Fails to Cooperate in Syria | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia criticized the United States and others Tuesday for what he said was their lack of cooperation with the Russian military campaign in Syria, suggesting that they had “mush for brains.” | |
| Mr. Putin was responding to widespread accusations in the West that Russian warplanes were targeting practically every group opposed to the Syrian government except the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. He complained that while the Russian government had asked for the coordinates of the groups that should or should not be attacked, the United States had not responded to either request. | Mr. Putin was responding to widespread accusations in the West that Russian warplanes were targeting practically every group opposed to the Syrian government except the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. He complained that while the Russian government had asked for the coordinates of the groups that should or should not be attacked, the United States had not responded to either request. |
| “Recently, we have offered the Americans: ‘Give us objects that we shouldn’t target.’ Again, no answer,” he said. “It seems to me that some of our partners have mush for brains.” | “Recently, we have offered the Americans: ‘Give us objects that we shouldn’t target.’ Again, no answer,” he said. “It seems to me that some of our partners have mush for brains.” |
| In Washington, defense and military officials have privately described the reluctance to work with Russia as a trust issue. First, they fear that the Russians might use the coordinates to target the groups the Americans do not want attacked. Second, Syrian opposition groups are already suspicious that the United States is coordinating with Russia on the attacks, a perception the Pentagon does not want to feed, the officials said. | In Washington, defense and military officials have privately described the reluctance to work with Russia as a trust issue. First, they fear that the Russians might use the coordinates to target the groups the Americans do not want attacked. Second, Syrian opposition groups are already suspicious that the United States is coordinating with Russia on the attacks, a perception the Pentagon does not want to feed, the officials said. |
| Mr. Putin, speaking at a forum for international investors, also said that Washington did not seem interested in a visit he had proposed by a high-level political and military delegation to coordinate actions in Syria. The Russian delegation would be led by the prime minister, Dmitri A. Medvedev, and include senior military and intelligence officials, he said. | Mr. Putin, speaking at a forum for international investors, also said that Washington did not seem interested in a visit he had proposed by a high-level political and military delegation to coordinate actions in Syria. The Russian delegation would be led by the prime minister, Dmitri A. Medvedev, and include senior military and intelligence officials, he said. |
| Aside from propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia’s staunchest regional ally, the Russian government is also believed to be motivated by the idea of ending its international isolation stemming from the Ukraine crisis. It also wants to be treated as an equal partner by the West in addressing the intractable problems facing Syria, which include the spread of the Islamic State extremist group and the need to shape a political transition to end the civil war that has killed at least 250,000 people and displaced millions. | Aside from propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia’s staunchest regional ally, the Russian government is also believed to be motivated by the idea of ending its international isolation stemming from the Ukraine crisis. It also wants to be treated as an equal partner by the West in addressing the intractable problems facing Syria, which include the spread of the Islamic State extremist group and the need to shape a political transition to end the civil war that has killed at least 250,000 people and displaced millions. |
| Mr. Putin said the only coordination so far included basic military matters. Consultations on technical details like how to identify aircraft as friend or foe is “not enough,” he said — instead, the various forces inside Syria needed to be pushed to work together. | Mr. Putin said the only coordination so far included basic military matters. Consultations on technical details like how to identify aircraft as friend or foe is “not enough,” he said — instead, the various forces inside Syria needed to be pushed to work together. |
| “If we want to be effective, if we want to not simply shoot and make missile strikes and reach a political settlement, then we need to motivate the forces inside the country — and this conflict is complex and multifaceted — for joint work between various forces on Syria’s territory,” Mr. Putin said. | “If we want to be effective, if we want to not simply shoot and make missile strikes and reach a political settlement, then we need to motivate the forces inside the country — and this conflict is complex and multifaceted — for joint work between various forces on Syria’s territory,” Mr. Putin said. |
| Mr. Putin’s remarks came hours after two mortar shells hit the grounds of the Russian Embassy in Damascus during a rally outside the walls by Syrians supportive of the Russian intervention. | Mr. Putin’s remarks came hours after two mortar shells hit the grounds of the Russian Embassy in Damascus during a rally outside the walls by Syrians supportive of the Russian intervention. |
| One shell struck a sports field and the other landed on the roof of a residential building, Sergey V. Lavrov, the foreign minister, told reporters. No one was injured, he said. | One shell struck a sports field and the other landed on the roof of a residential building, Sergey V. Lavrov, the foreign minister, told reporters. No one was injured, he said. |
| “Evidently, this is a terrorist act, aimed to frighten the supporters of fight against terror, so that they would not win in their struggle against extremists,” the foreign minister said as he prepared to meet the United Nations special envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in Moscow. Opposition groups in exile have recently expressed hostility toward sitting down with Russia because of its bombing campaign. | “Evidently, this is a terrorist act, aimed to frighten the supporters of fight against terror, so that they would not win in their struggle against extremists,” the foreign minister said as he prepared to meet the United Nations special envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in Moscow. Opposition groups in exile have recently expressed hostility toward sitting down with Russia because of its bombing campaign. |
| Syrian insurgents based in the suburbs of Damascus periodically shell the city. Projectiles have struck near the Russian Embassy in the past. For more than four years, the government has held central Damascus while shelling the poorer towns ringing the city, where many residents were among the first to rebel against Mr. Assad. | Syrian insurgents based in the suburbs of Damascus periodically shell the city. Projectiles have struck near the Russian Embassy in the past. For more than four years, the government has held central Damascus while shelling the poorer towns ringing the city, where many residents were among the first to rebel against Mr. Assad. |
| Official Syrian news reports ignored the embassy attack, concentrating instead on the rally. | Official Syrian news reports ignored the embassy attack, concentrating instead on the rally. |
| The mortar attack occurred hours after a call by Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, for revenge attacks against Russia. In a video posted Monday on YouTube, the group’s commander, who goes by the pseudonym Abu Muhammed al-Jolani, urged jihadists from the Caucasus to kill one Russian for every Syrian who had died. | The mortar attack occurred hours after a call by Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, for revenge attacks against Russia. In a video posted Monday on YouTube, the group’s commander, who goes by the pseudonym Abu Muhammed al-Jolani, urged jihadists from the Caucasus to kill one Russian for every Syrian who had died. |
| He said the horrors to be visited on the Russians would overwhelm the memories of what happened to them in Afghanistan in the 1980s. | He said the horrors to be visited on the Russians would overwhelm the memories of what happened to them in Afghanistan in the 1980s. |
| Also, Tuesday, a senior official from the Russian area of the Caucasus, the strip of land between the Black and Caspian Seas that also includes Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, was dismissive of the threat from the Nusra Front to carry out attacks against Russians in revenge for the campaign in Syria. | Also, Tuesday, a senior official from the Russian area of the Caucasus, the strip of land between the Black and Caspian Seas that also includes Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, was dismissive of the threat from the Nusra Front to carry out attacks against Russians in revenge for the campaign in Syria. |
| Jambulat Umarov, the foreign and information minister for Chechnya, also in the Caucasus, called the group “obsolete” and bragged that his region of Russia was the only place in the world that had gained the upper hand against Islamic militants. | Jambulat Umarov, the foreign and information minister for Chechnya, also in the Caucasus, called the group “obsolete” and bragged that his region of Russia was the only place in the world that had gained the upper hand against Islamic militants. |
| Mr. Umarov told reporters at a news conference in Moscow that the threat smacked of a command from the American State Department, echoing a common refrain in Russia that the United States created various radical Islamic groups to pursue its own policy aims. Russia fought two wars against Islamic insurgents in Chechnya in the 1990s and won by pursuing a scorched earth policy and by recruiting insurgents to its side. | Mr. Umarov told reporters at a news conference in Moscow that the threat smacked of a command from the American State Department, echoing a common refrain in Russia that the United States created various radical Islamic groups to pursue its own policy aims. Russia fought two wars against Islamic insurgents in Chechnya in the 1990s and won by pursuing a scorched earth policy and by recruiting insurgents to its side. |
| Also on Tuesday, Russia announced that it was intensifying its airstrikes against Syrian insurgents. The Ministry of Defense said it had carried out 88 sorties in the last 24 hours against Islamic State targets, hitting 86, the highest number announced thus far. | Also on Tuesday, Russia announced that it was intensifying its airstrikes against Syrian insurgents. The Ministry of Defense said it had carried out 88 sorties in the last 24 hours against Islamic State targets, hitting 86, the highest number announced thus far. |
| Russia tends to lump all targets together as Islamic State, but so far the bulk of its attacks have been against groups that threaten the main central cities as well as the coastal strip that is the homeland of the Syrian elite. | Russia tends to lump all targets together as Islamic State, but so far the bulk of its attacks have been against groups that threaten the main central cities as well as the coastal strip that is the homeland of the Syrian elite. |
| Both Russia and the United States have said that the Islamic State is the target of their attacks in Syria. Russia also maintains that removing Mr. Assad now will bring chaos, a position that the West and regional states reject. | Both Russia and the United States have said that the Islamic State is the target of their attacks in Syria. Russia also maintains that removing Mr. Assad now will bring chaos, a position that the West and regional states reject. |