Defense Official Says Russia ‘Complicit’ in Syrian Deaths

By Jim Garamone, DoD News, Defense Media Activity / Published March 15, 2018

Russia has not lived up to its promises on Syria, a senior Pentagon official said here today.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth M. McKenzie Jr., the Joint Staff director, answer reporters’ questions during a news conference at the Pentagon, March 15, 2018. DoD photo by Jim Garamone

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said Russia bears responsibility for the massive casualties of innocent civilians in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

White and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the director of the Joint Staff, briefed reporters during a weekly news conference.

Forces loyal to Syrian strongman Bashar Assad have carpet-bombed the neighborhood, causing thousands of casualties since mid-February, according to the United Nations. Reports from the beleaguered area say the Assad forces may have used chlorine bombs in some of the attacks.

White stressed that Russia could stop the fighting in the area. “Russia and Syria are partners,” White said. “Russia enables the Assad regime. The situation in east Ghouta mirrors that we witnessed elsewhere during the Civil War. Russia agrees to a cease-fire, but supports a regime that continues bombing innocent civilians.” She quoted Defense Secretary James N. Mattis’ statement earlier this month that “Russia is either incompetent, committing illegal acts, or both.”

The Syrian civil war will end through only negotiations, and the United States wants all parties to work together to bring the warring factions to the table in Geneva, White said, but Russia is standing in the way of negotiations.