{"id":46977,"date":"2017-12-06T22:01:57","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T22:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/06\/russia-wants-to-join-the-isis-in-iraq\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:40:28","slug":"russia-wants-to-join-the-isis-in-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/12\/06\/russia-wants-to-join-the-isis-in-iraq\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia wants to join the ISIS battle in Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Russia says it is ready to start talking with the U.S. about helping to destroy the remnants of the Islamic State militants in western Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments from a Russian defense official come as Russia claims that ISIS has been defeated in Syria. But U.S. officials say there are still several thousand ISIS fighters remaining and still plenty of work for U.S.-backed fighters in the region to finish off and defeat ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are ready to hold dialogue and join American counterparts in solving this issue\u201d said Russian First Deputy Defense Minister General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, as reported by Russian state news agency TASS<\/a>.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe attention of the international counterterrorism coalition should be focused on how to destroy militants in Iraq\u2019s western regions in order to prevent the ISIL comeback to Syria and how to exclude the revival of Islamic Caliphate there, but not on deployment of own military bases in Syria,\u201d Gerasimov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian deputy minister further criticized U.S. operations in Syria and claimed it took nearly 11 months for U.S.-backed fighters to liberate Raqqa, and that 90 percent of the city had been destroyed in the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cContrary to the statements by our Western partners, the operations of the international anti-terror coalition led by the United States have not yielded any considerable successes on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic,\u201d the general said, according to TASS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Raqqa campaign was announced on June 6 by the U.S. partner forces known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the city was liberated at just over four months of fighting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, Russian claims about U.S. operations in the region have been meet with much skepticism by U.S. officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would say the Russian Ministry of Defense statements are about as accurate as their air campaign,\u201d Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, previously told reporters at a televised Pentagon briefing in November. The statements by Dillon were made after the Russian defense ministry posted screen shots of a video game as evidence of U.S. collusion with ISIS fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the likelihood of any U.S. military cooperation with Russia in Iraq is low. \u201cOur communication with the Russians, from a DoD standpoint, is limited to deconflicting our operations in Syria to prevent accidents,\u201d said Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian and U.S. military officials use a communications channel on a daily basis to help deconflict ground operations and air space over a tightly congested battlefield. But, there has been no direct military cooperation between Russian and American forces in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But today\u2019s statement by a Russian military official does beg the question of Russian interest in western Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While ISIS militants lost their last urban stronghold in Iraq after the liberation of al-Qaim and Rawa, the terror group is still holding onto scant territory in the expansive Jazeera desert of the Anbar province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Russians may seek to expand their partnership with Iran and its proxies into Iraq in order to displace the US, further consolidate their own coalition, and dominate the region\u2019s post-ISIS security architecture,\u201d said Jennifer Cafarella, an expert on ISIS at the Institute for the Study of War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry is ready to hold talks with #US<\/a> counterparts on assisting them to destroy fighters of the ISIS terrorist group in #Iraq<\/a>\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6s western regions
\u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/4xPzLlSqUv<\/a> Follow @MoD_Russia<\/a>\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa pic.twitter.com\/NsOXwsL68r<\/a><\/p>— Russian Embassy in USA \ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa (@RusEmbUSA) December 6, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>