Protesters carry a banner reading: 'No to War against Syria' as they demonstrate in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, yesterday. Their protest is aimed against the deployment of Patriot missiles to the Turkish-Syrian border.
DAMASCUS: Russia backtracked yesterday after a top diplomat acknowledged that rebels might defeat long-time ally Damascus, as Washington and Berlin prepared to deploy Patriot missiles and support troops near Turkey’s border with Syria.
A foreign ministry spokesman insisted that Russia’s controversial support for President Bashar Al Assad’s regime was unchanged and that remarks by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov did not reflect official policy.
But Washington swiftly welcomed Bogdanov’s observations while announcing the deployment of two Patriot missile batteries and 400 support troops to fellow Nato member Turkey.
Germany and The Netherlands also have agreed to provide advanced “hit-to-kill” Patriot weapons, which are designed to knock out cruise and ballistic missiles as well as aircraft.
Yesterday, the German parliament approved sending the missiles along with up to 400 soldiers. Last week, the Dutch cabinet also gave a go-ahead for Patriots, along with a maximum 360 soldiers to operate them.
Bogdanov’s comments, reported by several Russian news agencies, had appeared to mark a major change in policy by Moscow, which has repeatedly used its veto powers in the UN Security Council to shield its Cold War ally.
But foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich insisted yesterday that there was no such shift. “We have never changed our position and we never will,” he said. At the close of a two-day European Union summit British Prime Minister David Cameron said “inaction and indifference are not options” in Syria.
The situation in Syria, with more than 43,000 now dead, is “truly dreadful and getting worse,” he said, adding that there is “no single, simple answer.”
Earlier, French President President Francois Hollande said “the war is now turning against Assad and we should set ourselves this objective — make Assad leave as quickly as possible.”
A joint statement by EU leaders said they were “appalled by the increasingly deteriorating situation in Syria” and looking at “all options” to help the opposition and protect civilians.
Panetta issued the missile deployment order shortly before landing at the Incirlik airbase in southeastern Turkey, a country he called a key ally, and said it will now have the defence it may need.
AFP
