The Russian military get reconnaissance information from the Kurdish liberation forces and other detachments of patriotically minded opposition, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told journalists on Wednesday.
“We receive information, including on the ISIS (the former name for the Islamic State – IS) and its aims, from them,” Konashenkov said when asked about the Russian military’s relations with the Kurdish liberation forces.
The general said that the Kurds were providing extremely valuable information on the operations, which are under way near Raqqa.
He added that the Russian military in Syria had been receiving extremely serious reconnaissance information from various detachments of the patriotically-minded opposition.”
“It is really valuable and deserves attention. But, I would like to re-emphasize that our experts are using their channels to re-check it. Terrorist targets are attacked only after the confirmation has been received,” Konashenkov said adding there were no such information exchanges with the Americans.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units YPG forces in Syrian Kurdistan (northern Syria), which the U.S. and Russia consider an ally in the fight against Islamic State, are regarded as the most effective group fighting IS in Syria, as the Kurdish militia has seized swathes of Syria from Islamic State. On March 17, 2016 Syria’s Kurds declared a federal region in Syrian Kurdistan.
The Russian military are exchanging information with their American partners as part of the reconciliation process.
The Russian and U.S. sides also discussed aviation sorties and air operations, the general said. Konashenkov praised the work of the four-sided center in Baghdad.
“It proved itself to be very good in autumn last year and early this year; the information coming from it was valuable indeed,” Konashenkov stressed.
He said that the information received from the Baghdad center was also carefully re-checked via space and aerial channels.
Konashenkov added that the general staff of the Syrian armed forces, which are in direct contact with the militants, collected reconnaissance data on the ground.
ekurd.net/
