Media: Russia prepares to officially send troops to Syria at Assad’s call
Israel’s Channel 10 has reported on negotiations currently being conducted between Putin and Assad on the beginning of an extensive ground operation in Syria by the Russian army.
Channel 10 reports that it received this information from its sources in the UK, and they in turn refer to their agents in the Syrian general staff.
According to this information, Moscow expressed its readiness to formally enter its army into the territory of Syria, if requested by the "legitimate government of Syria" in the person of Assad.
At present, only Russian aviation is officially stationed in Syria, but unofficially Russian military personnel have still been taking part in ground combat operations; specifically, the Chechen Special Forces, which are officially in Syria with a "humanitarian police mission to protect civilians."
If an agreement between Putin and Assad is reached, several thousand Russian contractors and conscripts will be sent to the territory of Syria.