Russian involvement in Syrian crisis

[pmaitra]

@Razor, I am aware.

• Azaz-Aleppo link cut off by SAA and RuAF.
• Saudi wants to send army into Syria.
• Russia warns Turkey trying to invade Syria.
• US warns Russia to stop strikes against "moderate" terrorists.
• Russia says strikes will continue.

 

[Kshatriya87]

@pmaitra Check this out. http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/pure-desperation-saudis-ready-send-troops-syria/ri12648
Also a russian DefMin Spekesperson had said yesterday that Turkey maybe preparing for an invasion of syria.
And the US has asked/warned russia to stop airstrikes in syria.

Looks like americans aren't gonna back down and let their ISIS buddies meet the 72 virgins.

Of course syrians and russians will deny to accept saudi troops if they are smart, which they are.

 

[Anupu]

@Razor, I am aware.

• Azaz-Aleppo link cut off by SAA and RuAF.
• Saudi wants to send army into Syria.
• Russia warns Turkey trying to invade Syria.
• US warns Russia to stop strikes against "moderate" terrorists.
• Russia says strikes will continue.

Do saudi's plan to move in their forces through jordon? or will they focus on Iraq first.

 

[pmaitra]

Of course syrians and russians will deny to accept saudi troops if they are smart, which they are.

There isn't deployable Saudi troops. Most likely, they would be Sudanese, Pakistani, or Bolivian mercenaries. Recently, scores of Sudanese soldiers were killed as the Yemeni rebels fired a Tochka-U missile at a Saudi military base. If those soldiers are Saudi soldiers, expect a total rout.

 

[pmaitra]

Do saudi's plan to move in their forces through jordon? or will they focus on Iraq.

I am leaning towards Jordan, but they won't send anything into Syria, because they will get fried.

 

[Razor]

Of course syrians and russians will deny to accept saudi troops if they are smart, which they are.

Yes, but that'll be an additional headache for russia; turki from the north and saudi from the south.

 

[Anupu]

I am leaning towards Jordan, but they won't send anything into Syria, because they will get fried.

But If they don't plan to send anything into Syria, what's the use of sending forces in Jordon? So let's think about it, US want's Assad out because he is too close to Russia and geographically close to Israel, Saudi want's to counter shias and probably that's why would like to attack Syria. They can't support a sunni group anymore because they seem like a bad investment right now. Wouldn't it better for them to move against ISIL in Iraq, they can even insure some pro saudi elements share power after the war?

 

[Razor]

But If they don't plan to send anything into Syria, what's the use of sending forces in Jordon? So let's think about it, US want's Assad out because he is too close to Russia and geographically close to Israel, Saudi want's to counter shias and probably that's why would like to attack Syria. They can't support a sunni group anymore because they seem like a bad investment right now. Wouldn't it better for them to move against ISIL in Iraq, they can even insure some pro saudi elements share power after the war?

Are you thinking ISIS and Saudi/Amerika are enemies. Nope they are friends, bff.

 

[Anupu]

Are you thinking ISIS and Saudi/Amerika are enemies. Nope they are friends, bff.

But wouldn't it make sense to at-least to now attack ISIS in Iraq, I mean you can't keep them up for too long, or afford to fight head on with Russia, at least by insuring that Iraq stays in control they can at-least keep what they have i.e Iraq.

 

[Kshatriya87]

Yes, but that'll be an additional headache for russia; turki from the north and saudi from the south.

In that case, Iran will have to get in direct involvement.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Kshatriya87]

But wouldn't it make sense to at-least to now attack ISIS in Iraq, I mean you can't keep them up for too long, or afford to fight head on with Russia, at least by insuring that Iraq stays in control they can at-least keep what they have i.e Iraq.

They don't "have" Iraq. Fights are going on there as well. Kurdish + Iraqi army is fighting IS. Iraq has given permission to russians to carry out airstrikes in Iraq.

Saudis can't fight with russia head on but if they attack with turkish forces simultaneously, they can create a big headache for russians.

 

[Razor]

But wouldn't it make sense to at-least to now attack ISIS in Iraq, I mean you can't keep them up for too long, or afford to fight head on with Russia, at least by insuring that Iraq stays in control they can at-least keep what they have i.e Iraq.

America armed and funded the mujahids in afghanistan to destabilize Afghanistan (and by extension USSR,) and then later the US moves in and occupies the region so that they have a foothold in the strategic C. Asian region.
ISIS serves a similar purposes for the Middle Eastern region.
It doesn't matter what is good for the saudi people or the middle east people, saudi royal family has to obey american commnads else they will simply be removed from power in KSA by "coups."
Right now they(USA) are trying to tire out russia, strengthening the "moderate terrorists" and thereby ISIS will serve that goal.
In the american mind, tackling isis, if the need ever comes, is not a priority at present.

 

[Anupu]

America armed and funded the mujahids in afghanistan to destabilize Afghanistan (and by extension USSR,) and then later the US moves in and occupies the region so that they have a foothold in the strategic C. Asian region.
ISIS serves a similar purposes for the Middle Eastern region.
It doesn't matter what is good for the saudi people or the middle east people, saudi royal family has to obey american commnads else they will simply be removed from power in KSA by "coups."
Right now they(USA) are trying to tire out russia, strengthening the "moderate terrorists" and thereby ISIS will serve that goal.
In the american mind, tackling isis, if the need ever comes, is not a priority at present.

Makes sense, I forgot to factor in the american influence on KSA. Yeh they are not bringing Russia down this time, it seems a bit unlikely that Russians will stay for long.

 

[Compersion]

seems usa wants to make russia look bad ...

 

[gadeshi]

A detailed satellite shot of Khmeymym AB:
http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/73769/

and another video of S-400 and Pantsyr-S1 on the same base:

 

[Gessler]

@gadeshi Sir, do you see any possibility for a Turkish ground incursion in Syria? A lot of people I've met online say that Turkey is planning such a move, and that KSA is also ready to join a US-led offensive in Syria if the US is actually ready for that.

I don't think US will enter this theater in any way that could cause conflict with Russian forces, but Turkey might make some moves without consent of NATO. They are upset that their interests in Syria are being decimated by Russian AFs and Russian-backed Syrian Army operations.

Some say the deployment of Su-35s is in preparation for a conflict with Turkey in Syria.

Also, do you see the Russian forces expanding in Syria? How many more could come?

 

[Gessler]

@gadeshi - Also, is there any truth to this?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...sia-flying-early-warning-aircraft-over-syria/

 

[Kshatriya87]

Russia must stop bombing women, children in Syria: John Kerry

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/repor...ng-women-children-in-syria-john-kerry-2174631

"The Russians have made some constructive ideas about how a ceasefire in fact could be implemented," he added. "But if it's just talk for the sake of talk in order to continue the bombing, nobody is going to accept that." Kerry's comments represent a clear shift in tone following a months-long attempt to cooperate with Russia over a way out of the Syrian crisis.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Russia to implement a ceasefire in Syria, saying its bombing campaign was killing women and children in large numbers and "has to stop."

"Russia has indicated to me very directly they are prepared to do a ceasefire," Kerry told reporters, fresh from a trip to Europe focused on resolving the five-year Syrian conflict. "The Iranians confirmed in London just a day and a half ago they will support a ceasefire now."

"We will have a much better sense in the next few days of how serious each party is," added Kerry on Friday, a day after he implicitly blamed Russia's bombing campaign against the Syrian opposition for the collapse of peace talks in Geneva this week.

Moscow, Damascus's main ally, has stepped up bombing around the Syrian city of Aleppo in recent days, facilitating a government offensive that has forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee to the Turkish border.

Kerry accused the Russian military of using "dumb bombs." "They are not precision bombs, and there are civilians, including women and children, being killed in large numbers as a consequence," he said, during a joint news conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

Russian planes are also targeting hospitals and returning to bomb people rescuing those wounded in earlier air strikes, he added.

"This has to stop", Kerry said.

"The Russians have made some constructive ideas about how a ceasefire in fact could be implemented," he added. "But if it's just talk for the sake of talk in order to continue the bombing, nobody is going to accept that." Kerry's comments represent a clear shift in tone following a months-long attempt to cooperate with Russia over a way out of the Syrian crisis.

Washington has accused Moscow of being "partly" responsible for torpedoing peace talks in Geneva on Wednesday that had barely begun.

The US and Russia were chiefly responsible for the resumption of diplomatic efforts to end the war.

After meetings in Vienna and New York in late 2015, regional and global powers within the International Syria Support Group - including Washington, Moscow, Riyadh and Tehran - are to meet in Munich next week to discuss a ceasefire in a war that has killed some 260,000 people and generated millions of refugees.

The diplomatic process was set in motion in December by a UN Security Council resolution passed by its 15 members, including Moscow.

 

[Kshatriya87]

^^ Look how manipulative they get when their agenda is hampered by russians.

 

[pmaitra]

Kerry 'blames opposition' for continued Syria bombing

#SyriaWar

Syrian aid workers said Kerry told them on sidelines of donor conference that 'opposition will be decimated' and to expect 3 months of bombing

US Secretary of State John Kerry addresses delegates at the 'Supporting Syria' donor conference on Thursday (AFP)

Dania Akkad
Saturday 6 February 2016 16:08 UTC
Last update:
Sunday 7 February 2016 18:27 UTC
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Topics:
SyriaWar
Tags:
John Kerry, russia, Aleppo, Syrian government, Bashar Assad
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US Secretary of State John Kerry told Syrian aid workers, hours after the Geneva peace talks fell apart, that the country should expect another three months of bombing that would “decimate” the opposition.

During a conversation on the sidelines of this week’s Syria donor conference in London, sources say Kerry blamed the Syrian opposition for leaving the talks and paving the way for a joint offensive by the Syrian government and Russia on Aleppo.

“‘He said, ‘Don’t blame me – go and blame your opposition,’” one of the aid workers, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her organisation, told Middle East Eye.

Kerry told reporters on Friday, as tens of thousands fled the Syrian government and Russian bombardment of Aleppo, that both Russia and Iran, another of Syria's allies, have told him that they are prepared for a ceasefire in Syria.

He said he would know “whether or not these parties are serious” after a meeting of the International Syria Support Group – 17 nations including the US and Russia – scheduled to be held in Munich next week.

But Kerry left the aid workers with the distinct impression that the US is abandoning efforts to support rebel fighters.

The UN-based Geneva talks were suspended earlier this week after the government and opposition delegates refused to meet. The opposition delegates stated that all bombing must stop before talks could proceed, while the government said the rebels were "not serious" about the push for peace.

Kerry’s mixed messages after the collapse of the Geneva process have put more pressure on Turkey and Saudi Arabia, a senior Turkish source told MEE on Friday.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned at the donor conference on Thursday that tens of thousands of people were heading to the Turkish border from Aleppo. On the same day, Saudi Arabia said it could put troops in as part of a multinational force to fight the Islamic State (IS) group.

Both feel extreme unease at the potential collapse of the opposition US-recognised Free Syrian Army, according to the senior Turkish source.

Two Syrian aid workers said they approached Kerry at a donor conference drinks reception and told him that he had not done enough to protect Syrian civilians. He then said they should blame the opposition.

"He said that basically, it was the opposition that didn’t want to negotiate and didn’t want a ceasefire, and they walked away,” the second of the aid workers told MEE in a separate conversation and also on the basis of anonymity.

“‘What do you want me to do? Go to war with Russia? Is that what you want?’” the aid worker said Kerry told her.

Both aid workers said Kerry told them that he anticipated three months of bombing during which time “the opposition will be decimated”.

The second aid worker said the most that Kerry seemed prepared to offer were aid drops for besieged Syrian towns which he said he had discussed with Russia.

"He said they were close and they were talking to the Russians about it," she said.

US-Syria backchannel
A third MEE source who claims to have served as a liaison between the Syrian and American governments over the past six months said Kerry had passed the message on to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in October that the US did not want him to be removed.

Instead, the source claims, Kerry insisted that Assad should stop using barrel bombs, which terrify civilian populations.

The source claimed that Kerry said if Assad stopped the barrel bombs, Kerry could “sell the story” to the public, the source said.

Assad reportedly responded to Kerry that in exchange the US needed to “stop backing the rebels,” the source said.

Kerry’s line to Assad follows a series of reappraisals of American policy after the failure of its programme to train and equip Syrian rebel fighters.

The programme ended in a fiasco last August when a batch of newly trained fighters, called Division 30 and who were trained and armed by the US, was detected and apprehended after they crossed into Syria for the first time.

A month later, another group of fighters was seized by al-Nusra and their weapons were reportedly handed to al-Qaeda in Syria.

A report in the London Review of Books by Seymour Hersh claimed that the training programme had been sabotaged by generals within the Pentagon who did not believe it would work and who provided Assad with information about troop movements.

Most recently, Kerry has been criticised for pressuring the opposition to attend the Geneva talks, reportedly saying that the opposition would lose US support if it didn’t go.

Equally, however, the US administration has been flayed by criticism that it had accepted that Assad will remain leader of Syria. This is a move that some experts say has weakened US leverage with Russia as well as creating tensions with its allies in the Free Syrian Army who vow this is a red line.

When MEE asked the State Department about the aid workers’ claims and about allegations made by the liaison source, it directed MEE to Kerry’s statements on Friday and to Friday’s daily State Department press conference, but it had not responded specifically by the time the story was published.

- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/o...kers-1808021537#sthash.yNy5ejLl.B8KkDo2M.dpuf
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Commentary: Moderates realizing that they should have been moderate and attended the peace talks without pre-conditions.