Moscow denies reports that the Russian military attacked opposition forces in southern Syria
Russian military officials rejected the Pentagon’s accusations that Russia had bombed U.S.-backed opposition forces in the south of Syria.
During a video conference with Russian military officials on June 18th, the Pentagon expressed "grave concern with the attacks on the Al-Tanf garrison that was supported by the international coalition forces."
The representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov, refuted the accusations. In his statement on June 19th, Konashenkov said that the area that was bombed on June 16th was 300 kilometers away from the area that the U.S. claims is controlled by the opposition forces. He insisted that the Russian Air Force warned the U.S.-led coalition in advance about their ground targets.
The Pentagon's accusations on June 18th were made during a surprise visit by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to Syria to discuss military cooperation "on fighting terrorist groups in Syria."