US Only Pretending to Fight Daesh, Russian MoD Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Pentagon’s refusal to cooperate with Russia in sharing intelligence on Daesh (ISIL) positions proves that the US only pretends to be fighting the terrorist group, spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told journalists on Monday.
Earlier, Pentagon spokesperson Michelle Baldanza commented on new data about Daesh oil smuggling routes to Turkey via Iraq.
"We are not going to cooperate with Russia on Syria until they change their strategy of supporting Assad and instead focus on ISIL," Baldanza told Sputnik on December 25.
"That statement [by Baldanza] sounds like a broken record," Konashenkov said, as reported by Sputnik News.
He reminded that during a recent briefing by Sergei Rudskoy, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Russia presented images and videos of the results of Russia’s airstrikes against Daesh which were aimed at disrupting oil smuggling to Turkey.
"During the briefing, it was underscored that as a result of our airstrikes Daesh is changing routes of oil smuggling from Syria to Turkey. The terrorists have mapped new routes via northwestern regions of Iraq which are monitored by the US," he said.
According to Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry "publicly turned the Pentagon’s attention to the fact that real actions, not discussions, are needed to counter Daesh in Iraq."
"However, Baldanza’s words proved that the Pentagon would continue to pretend to be fighting Daesh, instead of carrying out real actions," Konashenkov pointed out.
