The Russian defense ministry has dismissed reports that Moscow is planning to set up another airbase in Syria. "There are no 'new' airbases or an additional staging airfield for Russia's warplanes in the Syrian Arab Republic and there are no plans to create them," ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Monday, according to TASS news agency.
British newspaper, The Times, has claimed that Russia is setting up new airbase in Al-Qamishli province near Syria's Turkish border, according to Moscow Times.
"Speculations on this subject published by The Times are either an amateurish farce or a clumsy attempt of informational cover-up of Turkey's actions to amass troops near the Syrian border in the area of Al-Qamishli," Konashenkov said.
The spokeperson further pointed that Russian warplanes can cover the most distant part of the Syria within half an hour. "We have repeatedly said that the time of flight to any kind of target in the most remote point of this country for warplanes of the Russian aviation group in the Syrian Arab Republic roughly amounts to half-hour," he noted, according to Interfax news agency.
"Therefore, only absolute outsiders can seriously talk of any deployment of the Russian aviation in the populated area of Al Qamishli located at the Syrian-Turkish border," he added.
Russia started air raids against ISIS on Sept. 30, 2015 in support of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. The offensive has so far helped Assad's forces to recapture key areas in eastern Syria.
