WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Russian and US military actions in Syria are not aimed at the same outcome, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
"While we negotiated a document on safety of flight with the Russian Ministry of Defense, we do not align ourselves more broadly with their military actions, because instead of singularly attacking ISIL [Islamic State], they are primarily attacking the Syrian opposition," Carter said in his testimony to the Senate.
Carter explained "we [United States] are not cooperating with Russia," and added that Washington is "not letting Russia impact the pace or scope" of the US campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
US airstrikes have lagged significantly behind the number of Russian strikes in the last week. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported it had hit 94 targets over the past 24 hours.
The United States conducted 15 airstrikes on Monday, all inside of Iraq.
