Russian air strikes make Syria more dangerous, says Michael Fallon

Defence Secretary says Nato chiefs will use influence to encourage Russia to stop propping up the Assad regime

Michael Fallon says Russian intervention has made a 'difficult situation much more dangerous' (Getty Images)

Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war has made the situation “much more dangerous”, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said.

Mr Fallon joins fellow Nato defence ministers in Brussels tomorrow for a meeting which he expects to send a message to Moscow to stop its warplanes' incursions into the air space of Turkey - a member of the Western military alliance - and to end its support for President Bashar Assad.

Vladimir Putin has said Russian air strikes on Syria are targeted at terror group Isis - also known as Isil or the Islamic State - but Western intelligence suggests many of the raids over the last week hit more moderate opponents of the Assad regime.

Mr Fallon told BBC1's Breakfast: “The Russian intervention in Syria has made a pretty difficult situation much more dangerous.

”Tomorrow in Brussels, Nato ministers will be discussing how we can encourage the Russians to use their influence to stop propping up the Assad regime - which is bombing its own citizens and has helped to fuel the rise of Isil - and let us get on with the effort against Isil, which is the real threat to our country.

Russian jets launched intense air strikes on Hama and Idlib (AFP/Getty Images)

“We will be co-ordinating our activity to make sure the Russians actually start to respect some of the rules. They've had incursions into Turkish air space. Turkey is a member of Nato and we need to tackle that and make sure we can properly focus on the campaign, the battle, against Isil, which is the real danger.”

Russia ought to be part of us helping to get there instead of propping up a dictatorship

&#13; <p>Michael Fallon</p>&#13;

Prime Minister David Cameron has indicated that he would like to secure agreement from MPs to extend RAF air strikes against IS from Iraq into Syria, but has said he will only do so if there is “consensus” in the House of Commons.

Asked on Tuesday if he would need to show, before going back to Parliament, that he has a plan for what would happen to Syria after Assad's removal, Mr Cameron told Sky News: “You're right. We need to demonstrate that we have a vision and a plan for what Syria should look like and I'm clear that means a government not led by Bashar Assad but led by someone who can bring the country together.

"You need a Syrian government that can appeal not just to the Alawites but to the Sunnis, the Kurds and Christians."

Mr Fallon said the Government would call a Commons vote on extending air strikes into Syria “when we are sure we are going to win it”.

The Defence Secretary told LBC radio: “It's a new Parliament. We've been working with new MPs on both sides to explain the rationale. We have a very small majority. There are people on both sides of the House who need to be convinced, who two years ago weren't convinced and possibly now regret their vote.”

Mr Fallon said it would “undoubtedly” have been better if Parliament had voted for military action against Assad in 2013, and suggested that air strikes then could have led to “moderate” government in the country and prevented the exodus of refugees who have left the country for Europe.

“Look what's happened since - hundreds of thousands have been killed, millions have been displaced,” he said.

“We asked Parliament then for authority to strike at Syria's chemical weapons. If we'd done that then hundreds of thousands of lives would have been saved, we wouldn't have had millions of refugees coming from Syria seeking safety in Europe and we would hopefully have the kind of government that we have in Iraq ... a genuinely representative moderate government.”

Mr Fallon acknowledged that some Tory MPs might vote against military action: “There were a small number last time who were not persuaded and there are certainly some on the Labour side - including the Labour leader - who are clearly not persuaded.We've got to work hard on building a consensus for action on both sides of the border.”

He added: “When Isil doesn't respect the border between Iraq and Syria, it's quite illogical that we are not able to operate against Isil's headquarters - the area in and around Raqqa in north-east Syria, where American aircraft are striking, French are now engaged and Australian aircraft, but not yet British.

“We are building a consensus in Parliament to allow us to do that when we can.

“Is it really right that to keep the streets of Britain safe we should be relying on Australian aircraft or French aircraft or American aircraft? We have a very direct interest in not seeing Isil flourish and in helping the government of Iraq to combat it.”

Mr Fallon told LBC: “We want Russia to use its influence in Syria to stop the Assad regime bombing its own citizens, because that's what's been inflaming Isil.

“The Russian activity there's been in Syria looks to be directed against opponents of Assad, rather than against Isil.”

Asked what Mr Putin's strategy was, Mr Fallon said: “Syria has long been a client state of Russia. I think he's simply trying to prop Assad up. I think he was fearing that Assad was weakening and his activity seems to be designed to prop him up.

“They have been bombing quite indiscriminately in areas where there isn't Isil, where there are simply opposition groups to the Assad regime.”

Mr Fallon said that what Russia was doing was “extremely unhelpful as well as dangerous”.

Asked if he would send British planes into airspace occupied by Russian jets, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “No, we need to de-conflict the aircraft space over Syria. We've got too many air forces flying there and let me be very clear as members of Nato we're absolutely with Turkey in objecting to the incursions into Turkish airspace there have been.

“Nato ministers will be meeting in Brussels tomorrow where we will be condemning it in very strong terms and urging the Russians to start co-operating with the other air forces in the area.”

Mr Fallon said the Government was “slowly building a consensus” amongst MPs in the new Parliament two years after the original vote, adding that it was “rather illogical” to take on Isil in Iraq but not in Syria “when Isil itself doesn't respect any border between the two countries”.

He said: “We've been building that case amongst MPs and we'll go on doing that, but obviously the whole thing has been much more complicated by this Russian intervention which we deplore.”

Mr Fallon said as well as the campaign against Isil there had to be a political solution in Syria, a more comprehensive government that could represent all shades of opinion in Syria.

He said: “Russia ought to be part of us helping to get there instead of propping up a dictatorship.”

PA