NATO warns Russia over airspace violations

as Syria airstrikes widen

The actions, quickly criticized by Washington, add an unpredictable element to a multilayered war .

By Liz Sly and Brian Murphy-October 5

BEIRUT NATO warned Russia to stay away from Turkey on Monday after the
Turkish Air Force intercepted Russian warplanes that strayed into its airspace from
Syria, underscoring the heightened risk of a wider conflagration as Russia escalates
its intervention in the Syrian conflict.
The alliance of Western allies, to which Turkey belongs, also expressed concern over
Russias continuing military buildup in Syria, urging it to halt attacks on rebel-held
areas in northwestern Syria that led to civilian casualties and did not target Daesh,
using an acronym for the Islamic State, according to a NATO statement issued after a
meeting to discuss the weekend incident.
Turkeys Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the Russian ambassador had informed
him that the incident was a mistake, but it nonetheless contributed to the sense that
Moscows intervention in Syria had added a dangerously unpredictable new dimension

to the war.
[Why Russia is in Syria]
The tensions came as U.S. officials reported intensified Russian activity in apparent
preparation for some form of land offensive against rebel-held areas of northern Syria
and as they noted indications from a senior Russian official that Russia is planning to
send ground forces to join the combat in Syria.

Speaking in Madrid, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter warned of the dangers that
Russias moves in Syria would deepen the conflict, calling it doomed to fail because
it was primarily aimed at propping up Syrias President Bashar al-Assad.
It will only pour gasoline on the civil war of Syria, he said.
The incident on Saturday occurred as Russian warplanes were bombing a cluster of
opposition-held villages in the northern coastal province of Latakia, not far from the
site where Turkish jets shot down a Syrian plane in 2014. Turkeys Foreign Ministry
said in a statement that a Russian fighter aircraft entered Turkish airspace near the
border town of Yayladagi shortly after noon on Saturday then exited five minutes later
after it was escorted out of the area by two Turkish F-16s.

U.S. and European leaders have complained that Russias six-day-old air campaign
has so far overwhelmingly targeted not the Islamic State but the anti-Assad rebellion,
including groups backed by the United States and its allies.
Russia appears to be establishing what amounts to a front line extending from the
central city of Hama to the town of Latakia, where Russian warplanes are operating
out of an expanded air base, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
U.S. officials have noted, he said, signs of an expanded Russian military buildup at an
equestrian club on the outskirts of Hama. The buildup includes Russian personnel and
four BM-30 Smerch multiple-rocket-launching systems, suggesting Russia may be
planning to oversee a ground offensive aimed at capturing rebel-held territory in the
northwest of the country.
Rebel advances in the area earlier in the summer had spurred Russias decision to
intervene militarily on behalf of Assads government, which had begun looking
increasingly wobbly as the four-year-old war ground on. The rebel advances in a
strategic area of northern Hama province called the Ghab plain had threatened to cut
communication between the Assad familys coastal heartland in Latakia and
Damascus, the capital.

Object 1

Here's what you need to know about Russia's airstrikes in Syria. The Russian military
claims the strikes target the Islamic State, but U.S. officials say it's not helping. (Jason
Aldag/The Washington Post)
Russia has said it will not send ground forces to Syria, but it is possible that Moscow
will call on irregular volunteers such as those that have fought in Ukraine to
supplement the wearied and depleted Syrian army in an offensive to reclaim territory.
[U.S. will not directly confront Russia in Syria, Obama says]
In Moscow, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, the head of the Russian parliaments
defense committee, said it was likely that Russian volunteers who have served in
Ukraine will be dispatched to Syria to join the fight, according to the Russian Interfax
news agency.
Days earlier, the head of the Russian republic of Chechnya offered to dispatch proRussian Chechen forces to Syria to participate in operations in that country.
The Syrian army is also helped by thousands of fighters from Hezbollah militia of
Lebanon and other militias drawn from Shiite populations in Iraq, Afghanistan and
Pakistan that have been trained and funded by Assads other major ally, Iran.
A group of 41 rebel brigades, including Islamist battalions and many of those who
have received U.S. backing, issued an appeal for help on Monday from their Arab
allies to counter the Russian intervention, which they called a clear invasion of the
country.
The signatories included the Salafist Ahrar al-Sham rebel group as well as more
moderate units that have received help in the form of weapons and training provided
by the United States and its allies, such as Suqour al-Jabal and Tajamu al-Izza, which
are among the groups targeted by the Russian airstrikes. The al-Qaeda linked Jabhat
al-Nusra was not among them, though the group also has a strong presence in the
areas under Russian attack.
The United States has criticized Russia for attacking moderate rebels grouped under
the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army, but it has given no indication that it is prepared
to increase aid to assist them.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded by challenging the
existence of moderate rebels. He called the Free Syrian Army a phantom group,
adding that nothing is known about it.
Murphy reported from Washington. Craig Whitlock in Madrid, and Thomas GibbonsNeff and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
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