US provoking confrontation with Russia over Syria: American author

The United States is provoking a confrontation with Russia over the Syrian crisis but Moscow is doing its best avoid it, an American author and radio host in Chicago says.

Stephen Lendman made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Thursday while commenting on US Secretary of State John Kerry’s warning that Moscow’s support for the Syrian government could lead to a confrontation between American forces and Russian troops in the Arab country.

“The only two nations that are doing anything to resolve the conflict in Syria are Iran and Russia,” Lendman said.

Kerry told the Italian newspaper La Stampa on Wednesday that he had told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Washington was very concerned by Moscow’s military support for the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

“Well, exactly the opposite is true. America’s policy continues war in Syria,” Lendman said.

“Using ISIS forces as US proxy troops, [the the United States is] waging war on the Syrian people and the Syrian nation,” the analyst stated, using an acronym for the Daesh terrorist group. 

“And Russia is doing everything possible to end this conflict, to resolve it peacefully [by] urging a united effort against ISIS terrorists, wanting humanitarian aid brought in, and is being criticized for this type of policy,” he noted.

“The only thing Russia is doing otherwise is fulfilling its contractual obligations to Syria, supplying it weapons, supplying it humanitarian aid, and flying daily flights into the country providing these things; and they are criticized and big lies are being spread about Russian military forces going into Syria, increasing in numbers,” he observed.

US officials claim that Russia is engaged in a military build-up in the Arab nation. They say Moscow has recently sent hundreds of troops, as well as fighter jets, artillery and other military hardware to an airport in Syria’s western province of Latakia.

Washington says that Moscow is seeking to establish a military outpost in Syria to help the government in its fight against Daesh terrorists. US officials also said the deployment raises the possibility of air combat missions in Syrian airspace.

According to a report published by the New York Times on Monday, Russia is using the airspace over Iran and Iraq to fly military equipment and personnel to a new air field in Syria.

At least seven giant Russian Antonov An-124 military transport aircraft have taken off from a base in Russia during the past week to transport equipment to Syria, using Iranian and Iraqi air corridors, the Times reported, citing US officials.

American officials told the newspaper last week that the destination of the Russian aircraft was an airfield in Latakia.

“All of these are bald-faced lies. None of this is happening. Russia is very open about what it’s doing. And its contractual arrangement with Syria goes back many years. Nothing it’s now doing is different than what is has done earlier, except for providing vitally needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country,” Lendman said.

“John Kerry is provoking a confrontation, and Russia is doing everything possible to avoid this,” he concluded.

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