Medvedev said that the United States and other states should be discussing political issues. One day earlier, Medvedev criticized the U.S. in another interview on Russian State Television for refusing to hold talks with Russia and Syria. He called the U.S. position “silly” and said that the U.S.-led coalition’s air campaign effectiveness was “almost zero.” The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday that the air force made 36 sorties in Syria, hitting 49 Islamic State targets in Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Damascus and Aleppo regions in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced that military coalition forces carried out two air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, and 19 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with the Iraqi government.
A video grab made on Oct. 12, 2015, shows an image taken from a footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show explosions after airstrikes carried out by Russian air force.
Obama: ground offensive will not work
Speaking to reporters Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama said that a ground offensive in Syria is "not going to work." Even though the Russians have come in and Iran is sending in more people, "it's also not going to work because they are trying to support a regime that in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of the Syrian people is not legitimate," Obama said. His comments came as the U.S. and Russia reached an agreement in principle to avoid each other's aircraft as both countries conduct air campaigns in Syria. Obama said that was the only issue the two countries agreed on since Russia began its contentious military campaign at the end of September. There has been "no meeting of the minds in terms of strategy," he said.
Syrian troops launch Aleppo offensive
Syrian troops on Friday morning began a military offensive in the province of Aleppo, the latest campaign to regain territory amid ongoing conflicts with both Islamic State militants and government opposition groups. Russian officials also said their airstrikes allowed the Syrian army "to go into assault across the whole country," Interfax news agency reported. Both Syrian and Russian news sources claim Syrian government troops reclaimed several towns in multiple provinces, including Latakia, Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, and Homs. Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are fighting alongside Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters and Shi’ite militias from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Aleppo operation, and across the country. Russia joined the Syrian military coalition in late September. Moscow's daily airstrikes rankled other foreign forces carrying out air offensives against Islamic State militants and have become a repeated issue with Syria's northern neighbor, Turkey.
Turkey
