Russia’s military build-up in Syria includes a “considerable and growing” naval presence, long-range rockets and a battalion of ground troops backed by Moscow’s most modern tanks, the U.S. ambassador to NATO said on Wednesday.
Speaking on the eve of a NATO defense ministers meeting to be dominated by Russia’s intervention in Syria’s civil war, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute said Moscow had managed a “quite impressive” military deployment over the past week to its Syria naval base in Tartous and its army base in Latakia.
“There is a considerable and growing Russia naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, more than 10 ships now, which is a bit out of the ordinary,” he told a news briefing.
“The recent Russian reinforcements over the last week or so feature a battalion-size ground force … There is artillery, there are long-range rocket capabilities, there are air defense capabilities,” Lute said.
