PRESS RELEASE

---

Russian Defense Minister: U.S.-Russian Collaboration in Syria Is ‘Constant’

May 24, 2017 (EIRNS)—Speaking this morning before Russia’s Federation Council, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported that in Syria, the U.S. and Russian militaries are in constant, ’round-the-clock contact, TASS reported.

"We did not lose contact with them," he said.

"We are talking with them on a ’round-the-clock basis, during the day and night, and we are meeting at different venues.... A great work is underway with them,"

Shoigu added, explaining that,

"We would like it to be completed and presented as a project ready for implementation. We are working on the southern zone of de-escalation."

He pointed out, however, that Russia seems to be doing much more, with much less, than the U.S.-led coalition in Syria.

"The comparative analysis of results of actions in Syria by Russia’s aviation and the international coalition shows that our Aerospace Forces, which had fewer aircraft, carried out three times more sorties and delivered four times more missile and bomb attacks,"

Shoigu said. He also summarized what has been accomplished on the ground in western Syria from the time of the liberation of Aleppo.

Shoigu also emphasized that the Russian Defense Ministry knows which groups in Syria possess chemical weapons and called for joint action against them.

"There is information that Daesh and Al-Nusra terrorists have components of chemical weapons. Who can give assurances that chemical weapons won’t appear in other countries tomorrow?"

he asked. As for the propaganda videos that claim that the Assad government is responsible for chemical weapons attacks, this is all staged, Shoigu said.

"Based on those games with chemical weapons in the information field.... Some argue, without proof, that the Syrian government uses [chemical weapons]... But we have already reached the point where we are absolutely convinced today that most of the films and reports are staged,"

he said, as reported by Sputnik.