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No change in timeframe of Russian military operation in Syria — Kremlin spokesman

The Russian Aerospace Forces provide support to the Syrian army's offensive operation, Dmitry Peskov notes
Su-30SM multirole fighter aircraft at Syrian Hmeymim airbase  Alexander Yelistratov/TASS
Su-30SM multirole fighter aircraft at Syrian Hmeymim airbase
© Alexander Yelistratov/TASS

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. There has been no change in the timeframe of the Russian military operation in Syria, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, replying to a question if Russia’s plans regarding the timeframe of its operation in Syria have been changed after it was found out that the Russian A321 plane crash was caused by a terror act.

"No changes have been made," the Kremlin spokesman said. "The Syrian army continues its offensive. No effective fight against Islamic State is possible only from the air; a ground operation by the army of the Syrian Arab Republic is needed. And the Russian Aerospace Forces provide support to this offensive operation," he said.

The Kremlin has nothing to say if Russia’s armed forces will be cooperating with the US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the operation in Syria.

"I have no such information for now. These questions should be addressed to our military," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.

According to earlier reports, The USS Harry S. Truman will arrive in the Mediterranean to provide assistance to the international anti-terrorist coalition in its confrontation with Islamic State militants.

Defense News weekly said the US aircraft carrier might team up with France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier The Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean for dealing air strikes against IS positions in Syria. The US command’s decision follows an upsurge in the military operation against the Islamic State following last Friday’s Paris massacre.

President Francois Hollande, of France, said earlier that The Charles de Gaulle would leave the port of registration on November 19 to join the operation in Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 17 instructed the commander of the guided missile cruiser The Moskva, which is already in the Mediterranean, to establish cooperation with French counterparts to draft plan for joint action on the sea and in the air.