Russia’s recent movements near Syria’s city of Latakia suggest that Moscow plans to establish a “forward air operating base” there, the US has said.
Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said there had been a steady flow of people and equipment in the coastal area.
Russia says military equipment is being sent to Syria to help the government combat the so-called Islamic State.
Moscow has been a key ally of President Assad during Syria’s bloody civil war, which began in 2011, reports the BBC.
“We have seen indications in recent days that Russia has moved people and things into the area around Latakia and the air base there that suggests that it intends to establish some sort of a forward air operating base,” Davis said on Monday.
He added that the US was concerned that Russian military moves could come into conflict with US and coalition air strikes that were being conducted in Syria against IS.
US officials also fear that the stepped-up Russian support will fortify the regime of President Bashar al-Assad at a time when it has been losing on the battlefield and will complicate recent efforts to find a political solution to the conflict, the BBC’s Barbara Plett Usher in New York reports.
