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Tuesday, 28 August, 2018 - 17:45
A Russian war ship passing through the Bosphorus Strait, on its way to eastern Mediterranean port of Tartus, Syria. (AFP file photo)
Russia bolstered its military presence off the Syrian coast after its media reported that the West was preparing to soon launch air strikes against the Syrian regime.
The regime has been preparing to kick off an offensive in the opposition-held northwestern Idlib province, where Moscow said the factions were planning to stage a chemical attack to provoke the western strike.
Quoting anonymous sources, the Kommersant daily reported that Russia sent two warships and an additional anti-aircraft missile system to the Mediterranean in August.
Pro-Kremlin paper Izvestia said Russia currently has 10 warships and two submarines in Syrian waters, saying this amounted to Moscow's biggest military presence there since it became involved in the conflict in 2015.
According to Izvestia, Russia plans to send "several more" warships to Syria.
Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov charged that opposition factions were "close to committing a very serious provocation in Idlib using chemical weapons".
Moscow's accusations came after US President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said Washington will respond "very strongly" if Syrian regime forces used chemical weapons to retake Idlib.
In April, the US, France and Britain launched joint missile strikes on Syrian targets in response to a chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma that left scores of people dead.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1376171/russia-bolsters-naval-forces-syria-coast