Special to WorldTribune.com

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia’s deployment of fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles to Syria “raises serious questions.”

As pointed out by more than one Republican candidate at the 2nd GOP debate on Sept. 16, there should be no mystery about Russia’s interest in Syria. Moscow’s Putin is demonstrating that Russia stands by allies like Syria’s Assad and is more than willing to fill the vacuum of power in the Middle East created by the U.S. exit from the region.

According to a U.S. official, four Russian Sukhoi “Flanker” jets arrived in Syria on Sept. 18. Russia, which has also moved combat helicopters, tanks, mobile artillery and armored vehicles in to Syria, said the moves were made to assist the regime of Bashar Assad and to more effectively combat Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) after the failures of the U.S.-led coalition.

“Clearly, the presence of aircraft with air-to-air combat capacity as well as … surface-to-air missiles raises serious questions,” Kerry said.

Kerry said the movement of fighter jets into Syria is “precisely why” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu spoke on Sept. 18.

“We are engaged in further conversation about answering those questions and about de-conflicting the Russian activities from ours,” Kerry said.

The talks between Carter and Shoygu were the first since the U.S. defense chief took his position. Military discussions between the United States and Russia were suspended after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and involvement inside Ukraine.

  Ashton Carter, Bashar Assad, John Kerry, White House appears baffled by Russia’s buildup in Syria: ‘Raises serious questions’, WorldTribune.com