Kerry says Russian support for Assad risks confrontation

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday Russia's military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could raise the risk of confrontation with coalition forces fighting Islamic State there.

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, Kerry said he had told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov the United States was worried by Moscow's military backing for Assad in Syria's civil war, now in its fifth year.

"These actions could provoke a further escalation of the conflict and lead to the loss of more innocent lives, increasing the flow of refugees and risking a confrontation with the anti-ISIS (Islamic State) coalition operating in Syria," Kerry said."

at http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/23/us-mideast-crisis-russia-kerry-idUSKCN0RN0NK20150923?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews