--- description: Remarks by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson represent the first official confirmation of Moscow's presence. title: Russia Confirms Its Military Experts Are in Syria image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Syria](/tag/syria/) ## Syria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Russia Has Officially Confirmed That It Has Military Experts in Syria by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 9, 2015 9:56 AM CUT by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 9, 2015 9:56 AM CUT Russian experts are in Syria to oversee arms deliveries from Moscow, says Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The remarks are the the first official confirmation of the Russian presence, [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/09/us-mideast-crisis-russia-military-idUSKCN0R90OK20150909?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews "undefined") reports. The revelation came a day after the United States asked Bulgaria and Greece to close their airspaces to two Russian transport planes that were bound for Syria, according to the [_New York Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/world/europe/us-moves-to-block-russian-military-buildup-in-syria.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld&smtyp=cur&%5Fr=0 "undefined"). Bulgaria agreed with Washington and denied air-access to the planes, citing fears that Russia was not transporting humanitarian aid as Moscow has claimed. Greece has not yet responded publicly. Russia and the United States have not been able to agree on a solution to the conflict in Syria. Both see ISIS as a threat. But the two nations disagree on how to confront the terrorist group and the future of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4026155/russia-military-experts-syria/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4026155/russia-military-experts-syria/"},"headline":"Russia Has Officially Confirmed That It Has Military Experts in Syria","datePublished":"2015-09-09T09:56:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:46:47.881Z","description":"It says they are there to coordinate shipments of weapons","url":"https://time.com/4026155/russia-military-experts-syria/","keywords":["Syria","Military","russia","conflict","moscow","United States","troops"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/syria/","name":"Syria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4026155/russia-military-experts-syria/","name":"Russia Has Officially Confirmed That It Has Military Experts in Syria"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Bremmer: What Does America Stand For?","description":"As the world's only superpower, Bremmer argues that the United States must look towards the next stage of China's rise","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/LslU7mTn/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-03T22:18:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LslU7mTn.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4026155/russia-military-experts-syria/","duration":"PT3M55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4026155/russia-military-experts-syria/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```