MOSCOW- Russia on Monday criticized US plans to provide air cover for Syrian rebels in conjunction with Turkey, saying any support for rivals of Russian ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hampered Damascus' fight against Islamic State. Ankara and Washington are hoping that together with the Syrian rebels they would sweep Islamic State fighters from a strip of land along the Turkish border. 'Moscow has stressed multiple times that helping Syrian opposition, let alone helping with financial or (military) technical means, would lead to a further destabilization of the situation in the country,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)