Russian claims Syrian infrastructure targeted

BELGRADE, Serbia — Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to sign off on a delivery of fighter jets, battle tanks and armored vehicles to Serbia, the Balkan country’s defense minister said Tuesday, in what could worsen tensions with neighboring states and trigger an arms race in the war-weary region.

Defense Minister Zoran Djordjevic said that Putin agreed to approve the delivery during a visit by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to Moscow on Monday. He said six MiG-29 fighter jets, 30 T-72 tanks and 30 BRDM-2 armored vehicles will be delivered soon.

The jets would have to fly over NATOmember countries before reaching Serbia. Or, they would have to be taken apart and flown in transport planes, if the neighboring countries approve.

Pressure on IS has intensified in recent months as the group has suffered a series of battlefield reverses in both Syria and neighboring Iraq.

President Bashar Assad’s government has objected to U.S. involvement, saying that American forces are not authorized to be on Syrian soil. Moscow prefers seeing Syrian government forces leading the assault on Raqqa.

Rudskoi said Tuesday that Syrian government forces, with Russian military assistance, are making progress against IS. Russia has played a key role in turning the tide of war in Assad’s favor.

Syrian forces now control of territory up to 13 miles around the historic town of Palmyra, Rudskoi said, adding that they recently seized control of high ground held by IS along a highway connecting Palmyra and the capital, Damascus.

Syrian troops fully recaptured Palmyra this month after a push that saw IS defenses crumble and their fighters flee in the face of artillery fire and intense Russia-backed airstrikes.

The Syrian government had seized the town from Islamic State militants last March, only to lose it again 10 months later.