| Referring to this from yesterday. |
The United States made clear
| ...very, very pellucidly clear, which is perhaps less wise than it appeared to the clarifiers... |
Western officials suggested that the proposal, which the Pentagon said had not been formally presented to the U.S. Defense Department, was an attempt by President Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...to raise Russia's profile on the international stage.
‎"There is no agreement to conduct joint air strikes with the Russians in Syria," said U.S. State Department front man John Kirby, He added that the United States believed that the Syrian government of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Trampler of Homs...
was responsible for most of the violations of the fitful ceasefire that began on Feb. 27.
"We look to Russia to end such (government) violations, which includes strikes that have hit civilians and civilian facilities," he said.
White House front man Eric Schultz said the US aim remains for Russia to persuade Assad to abide by the cessation of hostilities in Syria, saying it was not the first time Russia had made such a proposal.
"You've seen Russia show an eagerness to cooperate with us militarily. This is not something that's new," Schultz said.
In private, US officials said the idea was a non-starter.
"Don't see it happening," a US official said, adding the US military "will ensure safety of flight but nothing else."
A Western official from a coalition country also played down the proposal.
"Putin has long had a strategy regarding Syria of trying to share the geopolitical stage with the United States and its allies, and his latest proposal appears to reflect that goal," the official said.
Washington has consistently refused to join any operation that is coordinated with the Syrian government, as has been the case with Russia's campaign of air strikes that began in September last year.