U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an important phone call to his counterpart in Russian, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on Saturday to discuss his concerns over Russia's military buildup in Syria, according to CNN.
Leaked intelligence reports show that Russia is a growing presence in Syria. Kerry and Lavrov agreed to further discuss the issue when Lavrov visits New York later this month.
If such a buildup occurred, it "could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation with the anti-ISIS Coalition operating in Syria," the State Department said in a written statement.
A broadcast on Syrian state television allegedly shows footage of Russian soldiers and armored vehicles fighting Syrian rebels alongside President Bashar al-Assad's troops in Latakia, The Telegraph reported. Russian military advisers are speculated to be in Syria for some time now, supporting the Middle East, but if confirmed, this would be the first troops fighting on the front line.
President Vladimir Putin commented on his country's military role in Syria, according to The Inquisitr. "To say we're ready to do this today - so far it's premature to talk about this," he said. "But we are already giving Syria quite serious help with equipment and training soldiers, with our weapons. We really want to create some kind of an international coalition to fight terrorism and extremism."
"To this end, we hold consultations with our American partners - I have personally spoken on the issue with U.S. President Obama," Putin added.
