US President Barack Obama has warned that Russia's military engagement in Syria in support of strongman Bashar al-Assad is a "recipe for disaster," though Washington could still work with Moscow on reducing tensions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin "doesn't distinguish between ISIL and a moderate Sunni opposition that wants to see Mr Assad go," President Obama told reporters, referring to the so-called Islamic State group. "From their perspective. they're all terrorists, and that's a recipe for disaster."
President Obama stressed that Russia and the United States would not engage in a "proxy war" due to their different positions on the brutal Syrian civil war.
"We're going to continue to have tensions. And we're going to continue to have differences," Obama told a press conference. "But we're not going to make Syria into a proxy war between the United States and Russia."
He signaled he was willing to engage with President Putin, particularly if Moscow "works instead to bring about a political settlement" instead of doubling down on its military support to Mr Assad.
"I said to Mr Putin that I'd be prepared to work with him if he is willing to broker with his partners, Mr Assad and Iran, a political transition," President Obama said.
"We can bring the rest of the world community to a brokered solution, but that a military solution alone - an attempt by Russia and Iran to prop up Assad and try to pacify the population - is just going to get them stuck in a quagmire."
Earlier today a Syrian military source and state TV reported Russian war planes had mounted a new wave of air strikes in the north west and west of the country.
The source said the 18 air strikes were in the provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo and were against militants of the so-called Islamic State targets.
The air strikes, however, appeared at least partly focused on areas hit earlier this week by the Russians where IS, has little or no presence.
Insurgents operating in Idlib and Hama provinces are mostly from rebel groups battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Those groups also have a foothold in Aleppo province, where IS also operates.
Separately, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said two children were among at least seven civilians killed in the air strikes on Idlib, citing witnesses.
"Four civilians, including a child and a woman, were killed in raids conducted by Russian military aircraft," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The air strikes hit the district of Jabal al-Zawiya, in an area under the control of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria and other Islamist rebel groups, said the Britain-based monitor.
"Three other civilians, including a girl and a woman, were killed in bombing by these planes of the village of Habeet," in the same province that borders Turkey, said the group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its information.
The SOHR also said at least 12 Islamic State fighters had been killed in a Russian air strike in Raqqa province yesterday. The province is mostly under IS control.
Russian air strikes on Syria have killed 28 people since they were launched on Wednesday, according to the SOHR.
Syria's main opposition group accused Moscow of killing 36 civilians in the central province of Homs on Wednesday, but the Kremlin has denied any civilians were among the dead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has hit back at the allegations, describing them as "information warfare".
The so-called Islamic State is not known to be operational in the areas targeted by Russia yesterday.
Russia’s air strikes in Syria will last for three to four months and will intensify, a senior Russian politician said today as President Putin met for talks with French President Francois Hollande in Paris.
"There is always a risk of getting bogged down but in Moscow they're talking about three to four months of operations," Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia's lower house of parliament, told France's Europe 1 radio.
Turkey, coalition partners, call on Russia to cease Syria air strikes
Turkey and its partners in the US-led coalition against IS have called on Russia to cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and focus on fighting Islamist militants, expressing "deep concern" over Moscow's air strikes.
In a joint statement with the US, Britain, France, Germany and Gulf Arab allies, Turkey said Russia's actions constituted a "further escalation" of the conflict and would only fuel more extremism.
"We express our deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria and especially the attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs and Idlib since yesterday which led to civilian casualties and did not target Daesh [IS]," it said.
Russia's decision to join the war with air strikes on behalf of Syria’s President Assad this week, and the increased military involvement of Iran, could mark a turning point in a conflict that has drawn in most of the world's military powers.
Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive in support of President Assad's government, Lebanese sources said yesterday, a sign the civil war is turning still more regional and global in scope.
