Syria denies Russia is escalating military support for Assad

Syria’s information minister denied on Tuesday reports of a Russian military build-up in his country, saying there were no Russian combat forces fighting alongside the Syrian army.

He was reacting to allegations that Russia may be attempting to send troops to prop up Bashar al-Assad against so-called Islamic state fighters.

On Tuesday Bulgaria denied a Russian request to use its airspace for supply flights to Syria citing “serious doubts about the cargo of the planes.” The denial prompted Russia’s foreign ministry to “demand an explanation.”

At the weekend, United States authorities reported detecting “worrisome preparatory steps” that could signal Russia is readying deployment of heavy military assets into Syria.

US Secretary of State John Kerry warned further involvement from Moscow could “further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation with the anti-ISIL coalition operating in Syria” – referring to Saudi-led coalition airstrikes against the self-sytled Islamic State group.

‘We are supporting them, were supporting them, will be supporting them’

Mr Kerry’s comments come following various media reports suggesting Russia may be increasing its military presence in Syria – ranging from sending the “world’s largest submarine” to “building a military base” serving the Syrian port city of Latakia.

Many of the reports say a video shown by Syrian state television with what appears to be Russian spoken by troops in the background as evidence that Russia has “boots on the ground” in the country.

President Vladimir Putin has been a longtime ally of Bashar al-Assad, and openly supplies the regime with weapons. His alliance with the leader puts his objectives for Syria at odds with the public opinion of most western leaders. However on Tuesday, Austria’s foreign minister broke with this view saying “we are on the same side” as President Assad in the fight against the self-styled Islamic State.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Monday that the country has “always” supplied equipment for “their struggle against terrorists”.

Denying any change in policy, Ms Zakharova said: “We are supporting them, we were supporting them and we will be supporting them.”

Mistrust

Speaking to Channel 4 News, experts agree there is doubt over whether there has been an “escalation” of involvement, because of mistrust towards the Kremlin following the situation in the Ukraine.

Defence and security expert Sarah Lain of the Royal United Services Institute think-tank said whilst it is “not beyond the realms of possibility” that Moscow has troops in the country there could be alternative explanations – such as training exercises for using the equipment Russia is providing.

Keir Giles of the Conflict Studies Centre also urged caution saying the video is garnering attention now, but it could have been taken at anytime and it does not in itself prove anything.

However, Sarah Lain added that it is unclear “because no-one trusts Russia’s word after the annexation of Crimea.”