As authorities in Russia deny the country’s military presence in Syria, dozens of photos of Russian soldiers posted in various parts of Syria appear to suggest otherwise.
Photographs of soldiers and military equipment posted in social media
with geotags indicating that they were taken in various parts of Syria from January through August were published in a Sept. 5 investigation by RFE/RL Russian service.
The photos show military personnel in Russian uniforms and equipment on
the territory of the country torn by civil war between army of President Bashar al-Assad, ISIS fighters and anti-government rebels. Their geotags show they were taken in Tartus, Homs, Latakia and other
locations in Syria. The investigation also established that equipment and
personnel were shipped from Russian port of Novorossiysk and Sevastopol in
Russian-annexed Crimea.
On Sept. 5, during an official telephone call
Secretary of State John Kerry said to Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the U.S. government expressed concern about Russia’s intentions to move toward a military buildup in Syria.
The Los Angeles Times Sept. 4 report
indicates that U.S. intelligence officials obtained satellite captured
photos of Russian military base for heavy equipment in Latakia province that
can become a reason of significant escalation of the conflict.
On the same day, the New York Times quoted unidentified U.S. administration
officials, as saying that Russia has dispatched a military advance team to Syria and has sent
prefabricated housing units for hundreds of people to a Syrian airfield and
delivered a portable air-traffic-control station there. The
source speculated that Russian deployement in the area might reach 2,000-3,000
personnel.
Early in August, Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press
secretary, denied
any plans of military involvement in Syrian conflict. “This issue is not on the agenda,” he said.
