On Wednesday, Kremlin received approval of the Federation Council on the use of the military forces in Syria for the application of air strikes on 'Islamic state' rebels, referring to the request of Syrian President, Bashar Assad, for military assistance.
An US official, on condition of anonymity, said that Russia has already caused the first air strikes. According to him, there are signs that it attacked the neighborhood of Homs, warning US authorities one hour before the operation. The Russian Defense Ministry and the US military were not available for immediate comments.
On Wednesday morning, the head of the Kremlin administration, Sergei Ivanov, said in front of cameras that the Federation Council has authorized the Kremlin to use military forces in Syria unanimously by 162 votes.
"This is particularly about Syria, and it is not about reaching any foreign policy goals, not to satisfy ambition, it is only about the national interests of the Russian Federation", - said Ivanov.
According to him, Russia has received a request of the Syrian president for military assistance, and it is only about the operations of the Air Force, and not on the use of Russian military ground operations.
"The president of Syria appealed to the leadership of our country with a request for military assistance," - Ivanov told to reporters.
Russia increases military presence in Syria, where it supports Syrian President Bashar Assad, who resists against the "Islamic state" and also against the Syrian opposition, which has allies in the West and the Middle East.
Asked whether Russia guarantees that it will attack only "Islamic state" positions and not the Syrian opposition, the spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said:
"Of course, we are talking about the fight against terrorism. The main task is the fight against terrorism."
He called Russia the only country that will carry out the operation in Syria on a legitimate basis, referring to the request of al-Assad.
"Any increase of military support to Syria by Russia has occurred and occurs at the request of the Syrian state," – is said in a Syrian authority statement received by Reuters.
Syrian state television reported that there will be the Air Force.
Russia has sent its military experts to the newly organized Center, which coordinates air strikes and other operations in Syria, told to Reuters an official familiar with the matter.