Russia, US engage for major move in Syria

As U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin get ready for a key meeting, news pouring in from Washington, Moscow and Damascus suggests a major cooperation to counter jihadists and find a solution in Syria may be the next move.

Russia has in recent weeks sent hundreds of troops, as well as fighter jets, artillery and other military hardware to the Latakia region in northwestern Syria, leaving Washington wondering if - or when - Russia will intervene in the four-and-a-half-year civil war on behalf of its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Sept. 24 if Russia were to fight Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists while also pursuing a political solution to the crisis, and not just "indiscriminately" attack foes of al-Assad, Washington and Moscow might find ways to work together. 

"On a course like that, it is possible that we could find areas of cooperation," Carter told reporters. "But if it's a matter of pouring gasoline on the fire on the civil war in Syria, that is certainly not productive."

The diplomatic flurry came amid concerns about increased Russian military support to al-Assad, including Moscow's announcement Sept. 24 that it would hold naval drills in the eastern Mediterranean region in September and October. 

Syrian government forces used newly arrived Russian warplanes to bombard ISIL militants in Aleppo province in northern Syria, a group monitoring the civil war said on Sept. 24, in an attempt to break a siege on a nearby air base.  

On Sept. 23, the Syrian military deployed Russian-supplied drones for the first time, a security source in Damascus said. The army received new weaponry from Russia for its fight...