DHAKA: The US and Nato have expressed concern over reports that Russia is increasing its military presence in Syria.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said if confirmed, Russia’s involvement would not help to solve the conflict.

Separately on Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry ‘reiterated’ his concerns to Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov over the phone.

Russia, a key ally of Syria during its four-year civil war, says it has sent military experts but that is all.

Correspondents say that without Moscow’s backing, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have fallen by now.

Unnamed US officials quoted by Reuters say Moscow has sent additional aircraft and two tank landing ships to Russia’s naval base in the Syrian coastal city of Tartus, within the past day or so. They also say a small number of naval infantry forces have been deployed.

But a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman insisted on Wednesday that this was nothing new, arguing that Moscow had been openly supplying weapons and sending military specialists to Syria for a long time.

‘Russia has never made a secret of its military-technical cooperation with Syria,’ Maria Zakharova said. Syria, for its part, has denied any military build up by Russian troops on its soil.

BDST: 1404 HRS, SEPT 10, 2015
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