A research firm believes that Russia is bulking up their military presence in Syria, according to CNN. In addition to the many troops and equipment Russia has been sending to the country, it now looks as though the country is adding a military presence to two new sites.
On Tuesday, research firm IHS Jane said that it saw two previously unreported sites in Syria that appear to be preparing for Russian forces. Previously, U.S. officials reported that Russia might be setting up a base near Latakia, a Syrian port city.
Syria has been in the grips of a civil war for years now. Russia has supported President Bashar al-Assad for the entirety of the war. The U.S. has asked Assad to step down as president in order to end the war, CNN reported.
In response to these reports, U.S Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the country is willing to work with Russia to put an end to the war in Syria, according to BBC News. He asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to help find a more diplomatic solution than war. More than 200,000 people have already been killed in the conflict.
Many of the migrants immigrating to Europe in recent months have come from Syria, a country that is also under threat from terrorist attacks. "For the moment, it is the judgement of our military and experts that the level and type represents basically force protection," Kerry said.
More than two dozen aircraft have been deployed by Russia, and surveillance drones are already in the air in Syria, according to The Wall Street Journal. Both President Obama and Putin will be attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York this month.
