US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that he does not advise the president of the US to coordinate activities in Syria with Russia,

if Moscow does not begin to "do the right thing in Syria," reports RIA Novosti. In an interview with CBS Carter said that Russia's support for the Syrian government is simply “fuels the fires” in that country.

" The Russians have been completely backwards there in what they’ve been doing. And so we have not been able to, and I have not been in favor, and I’m not recommending to the president that we associate ourselves with or work with the Russians until they start doing the right thing,” he said. Answering the question if it means that the US is not coordinating its efforts in Syria with Russia as before, Carter said, " They’re not doing what we need to do and things need to be done there."

Speaking about the Washington policy toward Moscow, Carter said that Russia behaved aggressively in Europe, in Ukraine, and in Georgia. "We need to stand strong against the possibility of Russian aggression in Europe,” he said.