A possible U.S. military operation in Syria would not result in a war with Russia, Secretary of State John Kerry said at a meeting of the foreign affairs committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, according to RIA Novosti.
“Foreign Minister [Sergei] Lavrov of Russia has made it clear – pretty much to paraphrase – Russia does not intend to fight a war over Syria,” Kerry said at the meeting on Wednesday, Sept 5 when asked whether there was a potential danger of a military conflict with Russia.
“And I’ve had personal conversations with President [Vladimir] Putin and with the foreign minister that have indicated Syria doesn’t rise to that level of potential conflict. Their ships are kind of staying out of the way. They are not threatening that. And I don’t think that would be what would happen here,” he said.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the assessment of Russia’s possible response would be presented to Congress at closed hearings.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Wednesday to give President Barack Obama the authority to use military force against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack last month.
According to The Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a liar, claiming he had denied that al-Qaeda was fighting with the Syrian opposition in that country's civil war.
Speaking to his human rights council, Putin recalled watching a congressional debate where Kerry was asked about al-Qaeda. Putin said he had denied that it was operating in Syria, even though he was aware of the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra group.
Putin said: "This was very unpleasant and surprising for me. We talk to them (the Americans) and we assume they are decent people, but he is lying and he knows that he is lying. This is sad."
It was unclear exactly what Putin was referencing, but Kerry was asked Tuesday while testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if the Syrian opposition had become more infiltrated by al-Qaeda, the AP says.
Kerry responded that that was "basically incorrect" and that the opposition has "increasingly become more defined by its moderation."
When asked if a strike would make al-Nusra and other extremist forces stronger, Kerry responded, "No, I don't believe you do (make them stronger). As a matter of fact, I think you actually make the opposition stronger. And the opposition is getting stronger by the day now."
In testimony Wednesday, Kerry said that he didn't agree that "a majority (of the opposition) are al-Qaeda and the bad guys." Extremists amount to 15 to 25 percent of the opposition, he said, including al-Nusra and many other groups that are "fighting each other, even now."
Putin also repeated Russia's position that any use of military force against Syria without the approval of the UN Security Council would be an act of aggression.
