Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses an investment forum in Moscow, on October 13, 2015 (AFP Photo/Sergei Karpukhin)
Moscow (AFP) - President
Vladimir Putin on Tuesday slammed Washington for refusing to share
intelligence with Russia on Syria, accusing it of muddled thinking.
"I believe
some of our partners simply have mush for brains," Putin said,
expressing some of his strongest criticism yet of Washington's handling
of the Syrian crisis.
Late
last month Moscow launched a bombing campaign in Syria, saying it needed
to target Islamic State jihadists before they cross into Russia, which
has a large Muslim population.
But Washington and its allies
slammed Russia's intervention in the conflict, saying Moscow was also
targeting Western-backed moderate rebels and sought to prop up the
regime of Bashar al-Assad."Now, we often hear that our pilots are striking the wrong targets, not IS," Putin said at an investment forum in Moscow explaining that Russia had asked Washington to provide a list of targets.
But Washington declined.
"'No, we are not ready for this' was the answer," Putin quoted them as saying.
"Then
we thought again and asked another question: then tell us where we
should not strike. No answer too," he said, adding: "That is not a joke.
I did not make this up."
"How is it possible to work together?" he asked.
"I
think some of our partners simply have mush for brains, they do not
have a clear understanding of what really happens in the country and
what goals they are seeking to achieve."
He
also took issue with a decision by a US-led coalition to parachute in
ammunition to rebels in Syria, saying the weapons could end up in the
wrong hands.
In televised
comments at the weekend, Putin acknowledged that Russia wanted to
buttress the Syrian regime, saying Moscow's task was to "stabilise the
legitimate authorities and create conditions for the search of political
compromise."
"We are not striving for some sort of leadership on Syria," he said at Tuesday's forum.
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