Free Syrian Army Blinks, Enters Talks to Join Russian Coalition

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry is aware of the information that the Free Syrian Army has agreed to cooperate and get involved in discussions related to the struggle against Islamic State militants, Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday.

“We focused our attention on the fact that certain forces operating in Syria at present, including the Free Syrian Army, express their willingness to cooperate and get involved in the discussions on participation in the struggle against the ISIL [the former name of Islamic State – eds. TASS],” Konashenkov said underscoring that the Russian defence ministry was open to contacts and was set to debate any constructive proposals.

In the meantime, Konashenkov said the Russian Defense Ministry’s appeals to foreign counterparts for coordinates of IS facilities had remained unanswered.

“Today we ask them: give us the coordinates of ISIL facilities,” he said. “But either silence is the answer or a refusal.”

All the attempts to receive coordinates of the moderate opposition have failed as well, he said.

“As of today, we observe a complete deadlock provoking a conclusion – either the moderate oppositions is a ghost or you just pretend you support it,” he said.

Russia’s air and space forces started dealing daytime pinpoint strikes against facilities of the Islamic State terrorist group, outlawed in Russia, on September 30. The air group in Syria incorporates more than 50 planes and helicopters, including Sukhoi-24M, Sukhoi-25, and multi-functional Sukhoi-34.

On Wednesday, four ships of the Russian Caspian ships had carried out strikes on the terrorists with 26 cruise missiles. Later, the Syrian army launched a ground offensive.