Russian MoD: The West is to blame for the strikes against the US garrison in Syria
Russian Defense Ministry blamed the U.S. anti-terrorist coalition for the air strikes on the Anglo-American base in Syria. The Russian military is not well informed about the location of the bases of the Syrian opposition forces, the speaker of the Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said on Saturday, July 23, 2016.
He said that Russia has repeatedly asked for the coordinates of the bases used by Syrian opposition forces. According to Konashenkov, a "joint action" against the extremists will be “an easy way to solve problems” and avoid similar incidents in the future. The representative of the Ministry of Defense has not confirmed the airstrikes on the American base in Syria, which were reported by several mass media outlets.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a military base at al-Tanf in Syria, used by American and British forces, was attacked by Russian aircraft in June.
In July, the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited Moscow to discuss the possible military cooperation between the U.S. and Russia in Syria. During the meeting the coordination plans for air strikes on extremist groups were discussed.