Kerry warns Lavrov against Russian military buildup in Syria

Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday expressed US concern over reports of Russia’s increasing military build-up in Syria in a phone call to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“The secretary made clear that if such reports were accurate, these actions could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation with the anti-ISIL coalition operating in Syria.” The top diplomats agreed to continue their discussions on the Syrian conflict in New York later this month, the department said. 
DEBKAfile was the first international publication to uncover the start of direct Russian military engagement in Syria last Tuesday, Sept. 1. A number of US publications followed up on the story three days later.