Russia dismisses US refusal to share intelligence in campaign in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin cups his ear to listen to a question as he departs after a summit on the Ukraine crisis at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, October 2, 2015. France hosted a meeting with leaders of Russia, Germany and Ukraine in Paris for talks about Ukraine which were likely to be overshadowed by the conflict in Syria. [Photo/Agencies]

MOSCOW -- The reluctance of the United States to share intelligence on Syria will not hamper Russia's operations in the war-torn country as Moscow has sufficient information from other sources, a Russian official said Thursday.

"We get this information from sources in a number of other countries, coordinating it with our partners within the Baghdad Information Center," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria have set up an information center in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad to share information about terrorist facilities in Syria.

Russia has been repeatedly accused by Western politicians and media of launching strikes against facilities irrelevant with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group and causing civilian losses since it started operations in Syria on Sept. 30.

To prove that Russia was indeed striking IS targets, Moscow proposed to Washington and its allies involved in the US-led coalition to share reconnaissance on Syria. Russia's proposal, however, was rejected, said Ryabkov.

He said the refusal to cooperate proved that Washington and its allies have their own goals in Syria, which had nothing to do with providing conditions for a national reconciliation there.

"I will risk saying that the United States and other countries involved in the coalition have put themselves in a politically ticklish situation where question arises as to which side they are fighting in this war," he said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday that the Russian air force has attacked a total of 112 targets, destroying 19 command posts, 12 ammunition depots, 71 armored vehicles as well as factories and workshops producing various explosives, including devices used in car bombs.

Russian warships based in the Caspian Sea joined the air campaign Wednesday, launching 26 cruise missiles from a distance of 1,500 km and destroying 11 terrorist targets in Syria, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.