NATO denounces ‘troubling’ Russian escalation in Syria

BRUSSELS — NATO leaders Thursday condemned Russia’s military intervention in Syria and vowed to sharpen their eastern defenses from the Baltics to Turkey, but they stopped short of taking concrete action to parry Moscow’s moves in the Middle East.

At a meeting of NATO defense ministers at its headquarters here, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg decried a “troubling escalation” by Russian forces in Syria and the use of “some of their most modern weapons” near NATO’s borders. At the same time, alliance leaders appeared to have scant appetite for a confrontation with their longtime adversary and limited their response to minor or symbolic military countermeasures.

Meanwhile, Russia intensified its attacks on Syrian rebels. The Russian Defense Ministry said its warships in the Caspian Sea fired four more cruise missiles at Islamic State targets from nearly 1,000 miles away, a potent exhibition of Moscow’s firepower.

Also Thursday, Russian warplanes continued to back Syrian troops and allied militias in a campaign to reclaim territory in western Syria from various rebel factions opposing Moscow’s ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The targeted groups include various Western-backed fighters. - Read More at washingtonpost

NATO denounces ‘troubling’ Russian escalation in Syria