A senior U.S. official revealed that Russia has conducted its first airstrike in Syria, near the city of Homs.
Over the past few weeks, President Vladimir Putin had been setting up for the strikes in Syria, as he deployed fighter jets and other weapons in recent weeks, reported the Associated Press. However, it wasn't until lawmakers had voted unanimously Wednesday that Putin was allowed to do so.
"The Federation Council unanimously supported the President's request - 162 votes in favor of granting permission," Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov said, according to Russian News Agency ITAR-Tass.
As dictated by Russia's constitution, Putin has to request parliamentary approval for any use of Russian troops abroad. The last time Putin did so was before Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.
The vote comes after Putin's meeting Monday with President Barack Obama at the U.N. in New York, where the two discussed Russia's escalating military presence in the region. After the meeting, Putin allegedly kept the door open for airstrikes, but ruled out ground action.
The Russian government told the U.S. that it should avoid flying warplanes in Syria, but failed to give any geographical information about where it planned to strike, reported CNN. A U.S. senior official stated that missions in the region are continuing as normal.
Ivanov revealed that Russia will not be sending ground troops to Syria, and will only conduct bombings at the behest of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to help combat ISIS.
He insists it isn't for "some foreign foreign policy goals or ambitions that our Western partners often accuse us of."
But rather for Russia's national security interests: "We are talking about Russia's national security interests," Ivanov said, adding that Moscow is worried about the increasing number of Russian citizens going off to fight for ISIS. Russia estimates that at least 2,400 of its citizens are fighting in Syria and Iraq.
