Moscow blames ‘two-faced US policy’ for Russian general’s death in Syria
MOSCOW: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday that the “two-faced policy” of the United States was to blame for the death of Russian Lt. General Valery Asapov in Syria, the RIA news agency quoted him as saying.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Asapov had been killed by Daesh shelling near Deir Ezzor.
Moscow has complained about what it has suggested are suspiciously friendly ties between US-backed militias, US special forces, and Daesh in the area, accusing Washington of trying to slow the advance of the Syrian regime.
“The death of the Russian commander is the price, the bloody price, for two-faced American policy in Syria,” Ryabkov told reporters, according to RIA. Ryabkov questioned Washington’s intention to fight Daesh in Syria.
“The American side declares that it is interested in the elimination of IS (Daesh) ... but some of its actions show it is doing the opposite and that some political and geopolitical goals are more important for Washington,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying.
Earlier on Monday, Americanbacked Syrian militias said that Russian warplanes had struck their positions in Deir Ezzor province near a natural gas field they seized from Daesh last week. Russia denied that.
A Kurdish commander, meanwhile, said US-backed militias expect to push all Daesh fighters out of their former Syrian headquarters of Raqqa in less than a month.
Under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the militias have hemmed the terrorists into a few districts in the north of the city.
The Kurdish and Arab militias pushed into the city in June after fighting for months to encircle it with the help of US-led jets and special forces.
“As the noose tightens, the reaction of Daesh gets fiercer,” said Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Raqqa offensive. “In the coming days, the battles will be at their most intense...
“We expect, under our plan, that we will be able to liberate Raqqa in less than a month.”
The SDF said last week that, after seizing 80 percent of Raqqa, the battle for the city had entered its final stages.
With the Kurdish people’s protection unit (YPG) militia at its forefront, the SDF has closed in from three directions. Daesh put up tough resistance, planting scores of mines around their districts, Ahmed said.
SDF forces sought to “meet up from several axes” to squeeze the Daesh enclave, said a field commander in the northeast of Raqqa. Shefkar Hemo said his fighters had faced fewer mortar shells and car bombs recently, with the terrorists relying more heavily on snipers.
“The breach of enemy lines is clear on the ground. Daesh are hiding behind civilians,” he said.