Terrorist groups in Syria are known, strikes are coordinated with Syrian army - Peskov

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. Russia identifies the targets for its strikes against terrorists in Syria in coordination with the Syrian armed forces, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. He recalled that Moscow would go ahead with providing support for the Syrian army in its operations against the outlawed terrorist group Islamic State and other terrorist and extremist groups. Peskov confirmed that there existed a special list of such terrorist organizations. "In fact, these organizations are well-known. And the targets are identified in coordination with the Syrian armed forces," he stated. "All current reports must be treated with utmost scrutiny. There have been many distortions and juggling with facts and a great deal of falsehoods," Peskov said. "The emphasis must be placed on the information coordination mechanisms the Russian president has mentioned. These mechanisms do work. One should be very careful so as not to fall victim to distorted interpretations." In part, Peskov offered his comment on Saudi Arabia’s reported request for ending air strikes against Syria. He said he had found no confirmed evidence there had been such a demand. "I did see the media reports, and I took the trouble to search for his (Saudi Arabian official’s) statements. For now I’ve found none, so I have no answer to your question. Not a single mass media has carried any direct quotes," he said. "Russia’s air forces will be operating in Syria as long as the Syrian army pushes ahead with the offensive," Peskov said. "It should be remembered that this is an operation to support the Syrian armed forces in the struggle with the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia as a terrorist organization) and other extremist groups. He confirmed that no conscripts would be sent to Syria. "It goes without saying that this situation and this operation does not concern the conscripts in any way," he said. "All countries around the world have been taking continued measures to resist all manifestations of terrorism," Peskov said, when asked if Russia was prepared for the risk of a soaring terrorist threat in the wake of the operation in Syria against IS militants. "Russia has its own National Anti-Terrorist Committee, the secret services and the FSB, which are responsible for struggle against terrorism," he recalled. "They have been taking measures on the permanent basis to ward of this threat." Read more