Brussels: NATO said on Wednesday it was concerned that Russia's air strikes on Syria may have devastated rebel-held areas of the country and may not have targeted Islamic State positions.
Russia launched air strikes in Syria on Wednesday in the Kremlin's biggest Middle East intervention in decades, but Moscow's assertion that it had hit Islamic State militants was disputed by the United States and Western-backed rebels on the ground.
"I'm concerned about the reports saying that the Russian air strikes were not targeted against ISIL," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a visit to the United States.
"I'm especially concerned because there has been no real effort by the Russian side to deconflict the Russian air strikes in Syria with the ongoing US-led coalition fighting ISIL," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State.
To "deconflict", in military parlance, is to ensure that, in this case, Russian aircraft do not accidentally clash in any way with Western warplanes.
Stoltenberg said Russia had informed the Western alliance that Moscow was providing military assistance to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But he called on Russia to seek a diplomatic end to the Syrian civil war.
"I urge Russia to play a constructive and cooperative role in the fight against ISIL and to strive for a negotiated political solution to the conflict. To support Assad will not help," Stoltenberg said.
