Earlier reports that Russia has increased its role in Syria by ratcheting up help for President Bashar Al Assad have been proven true with more people confirming the news. Three Lebanese sources familiar
with the political and military situation in Syria said yesterday that Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops. Speaking to Reuters, the sources are said to have given the most forthright account yet from the region of what the US and our region fear is a deepening Russian military role in Syria’s civil war.
The news should come as a shock and shows where the Syrian civil war is heading. When the rest of the world is busy discussing and sorting out the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian war, Russia and Bashar All Assad have been quietly executing a different gameplan which threatens to further complicate the Syrian civil war and the refugee crisis. Any failure to address the latest development would have grave consequences for the region.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken to his Russian counterpart for the second time in four days to express concern over reports of Russian military activities in Syria, warning that it could fan more violence. Washington said Russia sent two tank landing ships and additional cargo aircraft to Syria in the past day or so and deployed a small number of naval infantry forces. It said the intent of Russia’s military moves in Syria was unclear. One suggested the focus may be on preparing an airfield near the port city of Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar Al Assad.
Moscow is clearly stepping into the vacuum left by the US and other Arab, Western powers. In July, President Barack Obama said he was “encouraged” by a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir. The Russians, Obama had said, “get a sense that the Assad regime is losing a grip over greater and greater swaths of territory” and “that offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them.”
The latest news shows that Obama is gravely wrong. Putin’s strategy in Syria has been consistent. All along he has aimed to block any US-backed move to remove Assad from power and aimed to force the West to embrace the regime as a partner in fighting the Islamic State. Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry has complained of a “strange hysteria” over Moscow’s actions in Syria as more western countries are expressing concerns over apparent preparations for military intervention.
It’s time for the US and Arab countries to shed their lethargy on Syria and initiate measures that will lead to a final solution. The Russian involvement has made this crisis complicated.
Earlier reports that Russia has increased its role in Syria by ratcheting up help for President Bashar Al Assad have been proven true with more people confirming the news. Three Lebanese sources familiar
with the political and military situation in Syria said yesterday that Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops. Speaking to Reuters, the sources are said to have given the most forthright account yet from the region of what the US and our region fear is a deepening Russian military role in Syria’s civil war.
The news should come as a shock and shows where the Syrian civil war is heading. When the rest of the world is busy discussing and sorting out the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian war, Russia and Bashar All Assad have been quietly executing a different gameplan which threatens to further complicate the Syrian civil war and the refugee crisis. Any failure to address the latest development would have grave consequences for the region.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken to his Russian counterpart for the second time in four days to express concern over reports of Russian military activities in Syria, warning that it could fan more violence. Washington said Russia sent two tank landing ships and additional cargo aircraft to Syria in the past day or so and deployed a small number of naval infantry forces. It said the intent of Russia’s military moves in Syria was unclear. One suggested the focus may be on preparing an airfield near the port city of Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar Al Assad.
Moscow is clearly stepping into the vacuum left by the US and other Arab, Western powers. In July, President Barack Obama said he was “encouraged” by a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir. The Russians, Obama had said, “get a sense that the Assad regime is losing a grip over greater and greater swaths of territory” and “that offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them.”
The latest news shows that Obama is gravely wrong. Putin’s strategy in Syria has been consistent. All along he has aimed to block any US-backed move to remove Assad from power and aimed to force the West to embrace the regime as a partner in fighting the Islamic State. Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry has complained of a “strange hysteria” over Moscow’s actions in Syria as more western countries are expressing concerns over apparent preparations for military intervention.
It’s time for the US and Arab countries to shed their lethargy on Syria and initiate measures that will lead to a final solution. The Russian involvement has made this crisis complicated.
