Russian Deputy FM Confirms Holding Meetings With Free Syrian Army

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that Free Syrian Army does not have single commander and headquarters.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov confirmed Thursday that he had held meetings with persons claiming to represent the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

On Tuesday, a leader of a Syrian opposition group confirmed to Sputnik that representatives of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) had visited Moscow.

"I have met many people who say they represent the Free Syrian Army. I've met them both in Cairo, and in Moscow. They all say they represent the Free Syrian Army. But at the same time they say that there is no unified command, no single commander, no headquarters," Bogdanov told RIA Novosti.

According to Bogdanov, Moscow holds talks on a daily basis with a wide variety of Syrian opposition factions, including the National Coordination Committee for the Forces of Democratic Change, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces and Kurdish organizations.

Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting a number of militant groups and radicals from organizations like the Islamic State and the Nusra Front.

Since the start of the war, the United States and its allies have supported what they refer to as the "moderate" Syrian opposition, such as the FSA, in its fight against troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Russia, which launched its own air operation against ISIL positions in Syria in late September upon Assad's request, has been seeking contacts with the so-called moderate opposition to combine their efforts against Islamists.