Moscow, June 17 (RHC)-- Russia has warned against a call by U.S. State Department officials for strikes against the Syrian government, saying Moscow is opposed to a military solution. The Kremlin said on Friday such a move would plunge the entire region into complete chaos.
Dozens of State Department officials have signed an internal document that calls for targeted military strikes against the Syrian government, according to the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that the internal memo on Syria signed by more than 50 U.S. diplomats is an "important statement" that he would discuss when he gets back to Washington.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters: “It is not a secret to us that there are political forces in the US who favor a military solution to the Syrian crisis. But this is not our method."
The United States and its allies have been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh terrorists inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate. The attacks have largely failed to fulfill their declared aim of destroying Daesh but killed civilians and targeted the Syrian infrastructure in many cases.
Washington has consistently refused to join forces with Russia in Syria against Daesh ever since Moscow launched its campaign of airstrikes in September last year.