Britain says Russia trying to carve out mini-state for Assad in Syria
ROME - Britain said on Tuesday Russia could be trying to carve out an Alawite mini-state in Syria for its ally President Bashar Assad by bombing his opponents instead of fighting Islamic State militants.
Russia and Britain have been trading barbs after British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told Reuters he believed President Vladimir Putin was fanning the flames of the Syrian civil war by bombing opponents of Islamic State.
Hammond dismissed Russian criticism that he was spreading "dangerous disinformation", saying there was a limit to how long Russia could pose as a promoter of the peace process while bombing Assad's opponents, who the West hopes can shape Syria once the president is gone.
"Is Russia really committed to a peace process or is it using the peace process as a fig leaf to try to deliver some kind of military victory for Assad that creates an Alawite mini state in the northwest of Syria?" Hammond told reporters in Rome.
