Russia Not Setting Up Airbase in Syria, 'But Anything Can Happen'

Earlier, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Davis said that the US military is seeing movement of people and equipment, which may indicate that Russia is planning to set up a base south of Latakia.

NOVOSIBIRSK (Sputnik) — Russia currently has no plans of opening a military airbase in Syria, First Deputy Chief of Russia's General Staff Nikolay Bogdanovsky said Wednesday, dismissing recent Pentagon claims.

"There are no such plans as of today," Bogdanovsky told reporters, adding, however, that "anything can happen."

Media reports fueling speculation about a Russian military buildup in Syria have been consistently dismissed by Moscow and Damascus.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that Russian military specialists had been deployed in Syria to train local soldiers to operate military equipment delivered to Damascus by Moscow.

Moscow’s support for the Assad regime as the legitimate authority in the war-torn Arab country is in opposition to US and Western allies’ backing the overthrow of the Syrian leader. Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said the United States has recently shifted its stance toward Assad, implicitly supporting his tenure, in light of the threat of the Islamic State jihadist group.