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Figures show that Russian forces have tested several new weapon systems in Syria -- in the first direct clashes outside its borders in seven years.
Russia intervened in the conflict in September 2015, backing the Bashar al-Assad regime on the pretext of fighting Daesh.
The regime and its allies now control more than half of the country -- 109,136 square kilometers (42,137 square miles) of the 185,180 square kilometers (71,498 square miles) -- with two Russian military bases at the port city of Tartus and the northeastern city of Hmeimim.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, a total of 34 warplanes and 16 helicopters at Hmeimim airbase actively took part in military operations across Syria under the service of 63,012 military personnel, of which 25,738 are officers and 434 generals.
Russia must halt its covert development of a banned cruise missile system or the United States will seek to destroy it before it becomes operational, Washington's envoy to NATO said on Tuesday.The United States believes Russia is developing a ground-launched system in breach of a Cold War treaty that could allow Russia to launch a nuclear strike on Europe at short notice, but Moscow has consistently denied any such violation.U.S. ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said Washington remained committed to a diplomat solution but was prepared to consider a military strike if Russian development of the medium-range system continued."At that point, we would be looking at the capability to take out a (Russian) missile that could hit any of our countries," she told a news conference. Number of US diplomats doubled in Syria: Pentagon chiefGermany to stop reconnaissance missions over Iraq, SyriaNumber of US diplomats doubled in Syria: Pentagon chief
US would destroy banned Russian warheads if necessary: NATO envoy
Russian jets carried out more than 39,000 airstrikes to support the regime and allies. Its warships were deployed 189 times.
Russian S-300 and S-400 missile defense systems were also stationed across Syria, particularly in the vicinity of Russian bases.
According to Kremlin figures, the war in Syria has cost more than $4 billion and resulted in 112 Russian casualties. Thirty-nine servicemen were killed when the An-26 transport aircraft crashed and 15 when the Il-20 warplane was downed.
Russia also lost eight planes, seven helicopters and several armored vehicles.
Germany will next year end its reconnaissance and air-to-air refuelling missions that are part of U.S.-led operations against Daesh in Iraq and Syria, the government decided on Tuesday, a document seen by Reuters showed.Germany, whose Nazi past makes military action a sensitive issue, has mainly carried out limited engagements abroad since World War Two, focusing on training, surveillance, medical rescue and peacekeeping, although it participated in the 1999 air offensive on what was then Yugoslavia.Germany's air force will end the flights by Oct. 31, 2019, the document showed, without giving a reason for the decision.Parts of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), who are junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, have raised scepticism towards the flights.Number of US diplomats doubled in Syria: Pentagon chiefThe German cabinet set no end date for a mission by German troops to train Iraqi military personnel, but it is due to be reviewed by April 30, the document showed.The lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, will have the final say on the continued deployment of up to 800 German troops in the region.The German aircraft taking part in the reconnaissance and refuelling missions are currently stationed at Azraq air base in Jordan.German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said last month during a visit there that she could not rule out a longer-term deployment of her country's forces in the Middle East, amid a broader debate about a role for Germany in possible military action Syria.
Germany to stop reconnaissance missions over Iraq, Syria
Russia tested 231 different newly-developed or modern arms systems, including the Tu-160 strategic bomber plane, the X-101 air-to-surface cruise missile, the modernized T-90 tank, the Su-57 and Su-35 fighter planes, Mi-28H helicopter, various short and intermediate range surface-to-air missiles and the Pantsir-S anti-aircraft artillery system.
The Syrian war also saw the first-ever use of Russian long range naval cruise missiles, fired from warships in the Caspian Sea to targets within Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin illustrated this point during a televised question and answer session on June 8, 2018.
“The use of our armed forces in the battlefield is a unique experience, a unique tool by which to improve our armed forces. No amount of military exercises could compare with the use of force in combat conditions.”
The number of U.S. diplomats in Syria has doubled as Daesh terrorists near a military defeat, U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis said on Tuesday.The U.S.-led coalition, along with local partners, has largely cleared the militant group from Iraq and Syria but remains concerned about its resurgence."Our diplomats there on the ground have been doubled in number. As we see the military operations becoming less, we will see the diplomatic effort now able to take (root)" Mattis said.He did not give a specific number.A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mattis was referring to State Department employees, including diplomats and personnel involved in humanitarian assistance, and the increase was recent.The United States does not have an embassy in Syria.In a sign of the threat still posed by the militant group, security forces in northern Syria’s Raqqa said on Sunday they had uncovered a Daesh sleeper cell which was plotting large attacks across the devastated city.Raqqa served as the de facto capital of Daesh’s self-proclaimed caliphate until it was retaken by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia alliance last October.In June, the SDF imposed a three-day curfew in Raqqa and declared a state of emergency, saying Daesh militants had infiltrated the city and were planning a bombing campaign."We are still in a tough fight, make no mistake about it," Mattis said.He said troops would work after the defeat of Daesh to ensure that the militant group did not return.Russia has held the balance of power in Syria, both on the battlefield and in the U.N.-led peace talks, for the past two years. It has helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recover huge amounts of lost territory without persuading him to agree to any political reforms.But nine rounds of talks, most of them in Geneva, have failed to bring the warring sides together to end a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.The United States has said it will pursue "a strategy of isolation", including sanctions, with its allies if Assad holds up a political process aimed at ending Syria’s seven-year-old war.
Number of US diplomats doubled in Syria: Pentagon chief
Now is the time to completely clear Manbij, northern Syria of YPG terrorists, and leave the city to civilians, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.“There is a slight delay in the schedule, but the separate coordinated [Turkish and U.S.] patrols in the Manbij region conducted up to now were important,” Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, after a meeting on “Strategic Dialogue in the Western Balkans” at the World Economic Forum (WEF).Çavuşoğlu referred to the patrols conducted by Turkish and U.S. troops in Manbij as part of a deal to rid the region of the terrorist group YPG/PKK.He also emphasized the deal should be implemented fully by the U.S., adding that despite delays caused by the U.S. side, the deal is still working.Turkey's regional rights cannot be violated: ErdoğanIn June, Turkish and U.S. forces began patrols in Manbij under the deal focusing on the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated YPG terror group from the city in order to stabilize the region.Speaking about the quadruple summit on Syria between Turkey, Russia, Germany and France, Çavuşoğlu said efforts are underway for holding the summit the week after the Oct. 14 Bavarian state election in Germany.“This quadruple meeting is important in terms of Syria’s future and political process,” he said.Çavuşoğlu added that it was a key meeting for the group’s efforts on the Astana process on Syria.Two PKK terrorists surrender to security forces“With the Idlib deal, a new hope was born for the political process,” he said, adding everyone acknowledged Turkey’s role in it.On Sept. 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in the Russian city of Sochi to establish a disarmament zone in Syria’s Idlib province.“Now is the time to take a concrete step for the political solution,” Çavuşoğlu said, adding: "Turkey is trying to make a positive contribution in all aspects of the problem in Syria."Stating that Germany had begun to see what a dangerous organization the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) was, he said the group posed a risk not only to Turkey but each of the countries it is present in.“We see that Germany has also understood it,” he said, adding that the country had begun taking measures against the PKK terror group.He said Turkey had great expectations from Germany in the fight against FETÖ and the PKK, adding that Erdogan's visit to the country between Sept. 27-29 was fruitful in this regard.FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.
Time to clear YPG terrorists from Syria's Manbij and leave city to civilians: FM