No comment from Russia on Syria military base plan

MOSCOW

In this photo taken from Russian Defense Ministry official website on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, a Russian SU-34 bomber taxies at an air base Hmeimim in Syria. AP Photo

Russia has refused to comment on possible plans to open a new military base in Syria, following a high-ranking general’s comments on the matter. 

“Officials from the Defense Ministry and the General Staff should be asked about military [matters],” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Oct. 16 when asked about the statement.

“By asking this question, do you imply that the Russian General Staff makes certain decisions without informing the Supreme Commander-in-Chief?” Peskov noted in response to a question about the Kremlin’s attitude toward this initiative.

The deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen. Col. Andrey Kartapolov, said earlier that the Russian General Staff did not rule out opening a military base in Syria with Navy, Air Force and ground forces.

“I would most likely talk about opening one Russian military base. It will be one base that will include several components — Navy, Air Force and ground forces,” Kartapolov said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.

Russia has a naval facility in Tartus. A unit of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces – which has more than 50 jets and helicopters – is stationed at the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia.