The “little green men” have arrived in Syria and put their insignia on again. It is not a detail. The arrival of Russian troops in Syria, which began as usual undercover, is now in the sunlight. A quantum leap of the same policy that Putin is pursuing since the intervention in Ukraine.
It is about raising a bit the bar. And see the opponents’ response. Rather, wait for the opponents not responding in any way, and then raise the bar a little more. Europe has abdicated to its own foreign policy, while Obama seems to be taking pleasure in taking Putin’s lumps. Meanwhile Russia acts.
The Russian airstrikes in Syria – with an outrageous one-hour notice to US forces in the area – are just Putin’s latest move. And it’s putting the US in the corner.
According to some military experts, the weaponry deployed would be unsuitable to hit ISIS small and much more effective against armored vehicles and aircraft or drones. Like the American ones.
To be honest, it is a true masterpiece of Putin’s foreign policy and his tireless sherpa Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. A pattern already sketched a couple of years ago, with the agreement on Bashar al-Assad’s the chemical weapons. A design that has taken shape with the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbass, and that now is completing in Syria.
To be even more honest, we might add – as fans of Putin say – that Russia is not doing anything different from what America has always done to protect its affairs in the world. And Syria is a Russian affair.
The friendly regime of Assad – endangered not only by the advance of the Isis, reported target of the Russians, but also by the opposition forces of Free Syrian Army, armed and financed by the Americans – has so far ensured the existence of the only Russian naval base in the Mediterranean. Like defending its precious Black Sea fleet docked in Crimea half a year ago, now Moscow doesn’t want to lose its boot in the Mediterranean.
A boot in the Mediterranean
Actually it is not a real base. Tartus, south on the Syrian cost, is classified by the Russian navy as a “point of technical and material assistance.” It has been active since the Soviet times, given the long tradition of supplying weapons to Syria. After the fall of the USSR it was disgraced. But already in 2010 the then head of the Russian Navy, Vladimir Vysotsky, unveiled the project to modernize it and expand it to allow the mooring of the largest ships like the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov. The war in Syria stopped the project before becoming an opportunity.
Having an operational naval base on the Syrian coast will allow the Black Sea fleet ships to sail from Crimea, cross the Bosporus and extend Russian navy operational range in the Mediterranean. To make this possible, two things are needed: that Assad remains firmly in power and that Americans do what Moscow wants. At best, they can act as supporters in a Russia-led coalition.
It is a direct challenge that raises the stakes and reinforces the aggressive Russian foreign policy, a threat to international stability. But those who call for dialogue with Russia are right. The issue cannot be solved by force. But it must be clearly said that dialogue shouldn’t mean lifting sanctions for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine.
@daniloeliatweet
The “little green men” have arrived in Syria and put their insignia on again. It is not a detail. The arrival of Russian troops in Syria, which began as usual undercover, is now in the sunlight. A quantum leap of the same policy that Putin is pursuing since the intervention in Ukraine.
