Rumor has it that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened to un-friend Lavrov on Facebook.  Meanwhile, President Obama is strongly considering approval for a pointed #Hashtag campaign.  Follow-up To This Story

Kerry Lavrov
(Via Reuters) Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart on Saturday the United States was deeply concerned about reports that Moscow was moving toward a major military build-up in Syria widely seen as aimed at bolstering President Bashar al-Assad.
U.S. authorities have detected “worrisome preparatory steps,” including transport of prefabricated housing units for hundreds of people to a Syrian airfield, that could signal that Russia is readying deployment of heavy military assets there, a senior U.S. official told Reuters.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow’s exact intentions remained unclear but that Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to leave no doubt of the U.S. position.
The State Department pointed to media accounts suggesting an “imminent enhanced Russian military build-up” in Syria.
“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 State Department said, using an acronym for Islamic State.
Russia’s actions could signal an intensified effort to support Assad, a longtime Russian ally who has seen the area he controls whittled down to a fifth or less of Syria’s territory after more than four years of grinding civil war.
Among the latest steps by Russia is the delivery of the temporary housing units and a portable air traffic control station to an airfield near the port city of Latakia, an Assad stronghold, the U.S. official said.
The Russians have also filed military overflight requests with neighboring countries, the U.S. official said.
In addition, Russia has dispatched a military advance team to Syria, the New York Times reported.  (read more)
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