The U.S. State Department released a joint declaration with its allies condemning Russian military action in Syria.
The media release was written jointly with the governments of France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom along with the U.S. Here it what the State Department said in their joint statement with their allies:
“We express our deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria and especially the attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs and Idlib which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da’esh. These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalization. We call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL.”
On Wednesday, Russian announced that they would begin airstrikes in Syria targeting ISIS. But while Russia claims that that they are striking the terrorist group, some reports contend that the airstrikes are targeted against moderate Syrian rebels. Previously U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, said that Russia was “pouring gas on the fire,” with their airstrikes in Syria.