WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — This week Russia confirmed that they were flying humanitarian aid and military equipment into Syria to support the efforts of the government of President Bashar Assad to counter terrorist groups like ISIL and the al-Nusra Front.
"You have got this very complicated airspace [in Syria], and again there is a potential there for somebody to make a mistake; then you end up with one of these bad situations," Roberts said on Thursday.
At present, the United States, France and Turkey are conducting airstrikes in Syria against ISIL targets. The Syrian air force and now Russian aircraft are also active in the airspace.
He also cautioned that one should not assume the military contact already exists between the parties operating in Syria to avoid an accident.
Until 2011, Roberts served as the Director of NATO's Nuclear Policy, Emerging Security Challenges Division, Prior to that, he was a US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.
