Russia prepares army for Syrian deployment
By Clara Weiss
12 June 2012
Given the worsening crisis in Syria, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper
reported that the Russian army is apparently being prepared for a mission in
Syria. Citing anonymous sources in the military leadership, the newspaper
said that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the general staff to work
out a plan for military operations outside Russia, including in Syria.
The units being prepared for an intervention are the 76th Division of
airborne forces (an especially experienced unit of the Russian army), the
15th Army Division, as well as special forces from a brigade of the Black
Sea fleet, which has a base in the Syrian port of Tartus.
The details of the operational plan are being prepared by the working
parties of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, to which most of the
post-Soviet states belong, as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,
to which China and Russia belong.
According to the newspaper report, deployment depends on the decision of the
Russian government and the UN. However, the plans also foresee that the
troops might intervene without UN approval. The Russian government has so
far not confirmed the report.
On Monday last week, three Russian warships were sighted off the Syrian
coast. An anonymous source from the Russian government told the Iranian
newspaper Tehran Times that Moscow wants to show NATO that it will not allow
any military operation against Damascus under the guise of a humanitarian
mission.
Earlier, the secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization, Nikolai Bordjusha, had held out the possibility of using
peacekeepers in Syria. The task in Syria is likely to be to impose
peaceprimarily against the insurgents, who use weapons to solve political
problems.
Russia and China strongly oppose a military intervention by NATO in Syria,
and have already blocked two UN resolutions on the issue. The US and its
allies, especially Turkey, Saudi Arabia and France, have stoked up a civil
war in Syria and are systematically arming the so-called rebels, who consist
mainly of Islamists, ex-members of the government, or Al Qaeda terrorists.
Turkey is increasingly in the leadership of the US proxy war in Syria.
In recent weeks calls for a military intervention in Syria have increased.
After the massacre in Houla, French President Francois Hollande spoke out in
favour of military intervention. The West blamed the government of Bashar
al-Assad for this massacre without any clear evidence. The German elite is
also openly discussing a possible military intervention; Berlin has tried
unsuccessfully to push Russia to make concessions on the issue.
Russia has not excluded a political solution, i.e., the slow transition
from the Assad regime to another government. At all costs, however, the
Kremlin wants to avoid the violent overthrow of Assad by the West for
several reasons, whether it is through direct military intervention by NATO
or is brought about by the rebels armed by the West. Two weeks ago, Russian
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that a military intervention in Syria
could quickly escalate and lead to the use of nuclear weapons.
Since Soviet times, Moscow and Syria have maintained close ties, especially
in military and economic matters. More importantly, however, a war against
Syria means a ramping up of US aggression in the Middle East. The US has
already significantly extended its influence in the region through the wars
against Afghanistan and Iraq. They also have military bases in almost every
country in the area: Pakistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, Uzbekistan,
Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Turkmenistan, as well as some in other
smaller states. Meanwhile, Syria and Iran, which are virtually surrounded by
US military bases, have become the last bastions of Russia and China in the
Middle East against the encroachment of the United States.
A regime change in Damascus would probably bring a Sunni government to
power, which would work closely with Saudi Arabia and the United States
against Russia and China. Moreover, an escalation of the civil war in
Syriawhich is already well underwayand a military intervention would set
the entire Middle East ablaze. A NATO-led war against Syria would be an
immediate prelude to a war against Iran. An attack on Iran would mean
another step toward a military escalation of tensions between Washington and
Beijing.
While China obtains a significant portion of its raw material imports from
Iran, Tehran is Russias most important ally in the Caucasus and the Caspian
Sea to counter the influence of the US and Israel. Both Moscow and Tehran
oppose the construction of a trans-Caspian pipeline by the West. They also
reject the massive military rearmament of Azerbaijan, which is promoted by
the United States, Israel and Turkey. The Caspian region is of key
geopolitical importance because it links resource-rich Central Asia with
Europe, and because it also has extensive oil and gas reserves.
The growing threat of war in the Middle Eastand the fact that the European
countries, including Germany and France, are siding with the United
Statesis increasingly driving Russia into a military alliance with China.
It is significant that Vladimir Putins first foreign visit since taking
office was to Belarus, and that he then only spent a few hours in Berlin and
Paris before going on to Central Asia. The highlight of his visit abroad was
in China, where he met with the Chinese president, and then took part at the
summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on June 6 and 7. In
addition to Russia and China, the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also belong to this organization;
Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have observer status.
As was the case at the previous meeting of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization, discussion at the SCO summit centred on military and economic
cooperation. The summit adopted a declaration on the establishment of a
region of lasting peace and common prosperity. Military intervention
against Syria or Iran was explicitly rejected.
The declaration also condemns the establishment of the NATO missile defence
system in Europe, which is directed primarily against Russia and has led to
severe tensions between Washington and both Europe and Moscow. In future,
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is planning to cooperate militarily
more closely on issues of regional security.
During his two-day visit to Beijing, Putin had previously agreed with
Chinese President Hu Jintao to jointly strengthen security in the
Asia-Pacific region. Both countries intend to hold frequent joint military
exercises in the Pacific, after holding joint naval exercises in the Yellow
Sea in the spring. The United States is increasingly focussing its military
build-up in the Asian Pacific region in preparation for a military
confrontation with China.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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