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MMC
04-09-2012, 05:38 AM
Not 24 hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (http://www.debka.com/article/21885)warned that a pre-emptive strike (by the US and/or Israel) would violate international law, Moscow put muscle into his warning: Tuesday, April 3, the Russian guided missile destroyer Smetliviy arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus for a naval exercise. The ship, which carries anti-air, anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles, will hold drills with its support vessels in the same expanse of E. Mediterranean as the US-Israeli-Greek “Noble Dina” exercise (http://www.debka.com/article/21885). .....snip~


http://debka.com/#21886

Seems Putin has made sure there will be no Western Action to up the ante with anything else in Syria other than sanctions. How does this affect Obama who has told Assad he must step down? Is Obama weakened by the Syrian Conflict? Will Clinton take any heat for the complete and utter mess she has made out of the SOS Office?

MMC
04-10-2012, 07:02 AM
http://ts1.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=5017785027854560&id=41d7c3a859fdf3b63cd0997a57143be2&url=http%3a%2f%2fpunditkitchen.files.wordpress.com %2f2010%2f01%2fpolitical-pictures-vladimir-putin-expelliarmus.jpg http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4887789261554038&id=b36edc88b2f29df603decebad9c8c625&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.freakingnews.com%2fpictures%2 f58000%2fSuper-Vladimir-Putin-58194.jpg http://ts4.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4535958451586487&id=0c400623f543cbe5bfb44bf5b10c640f&url=http%3a%2f%2fi.huffpost.com%2fgen%2f418098%2ft humbs%2fr-VLADIMIR-PUTIN-large570.jpg

Putin says go ahead and try to take Syria.

waltky
10-05-2016, 01:14 AM
Russia sendin' more anti-aircraft missiles to Syrian port of Tartus...
http://www.politicalforum.com/images/smilies/icon_omg.gif
Syria conflict: Russia sends missile system to Tartus base
Tue, 04 Oct 2016 - Russia sends an S-300 air defence missile system to its naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, amid growing tension with the US over the conflict.


Defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the purpose of the system was to guarantee the security of the base from the air. The move comes amid growing tension with the West. On Monday, the US halted talks with Russia on trying to co-ordinate air strikes against jihadists. A ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow collapsed last month. "Let me remind you that the S-300 is a purely defensive system and poses no threat to anyone," Maj-Gen Konashenkov said. "It is unclear why the deployment of the S-300 caused such alarm among our Western partners." The spokesman said the system was similar to one earlier deployed at sea on the cruiser Moskva.


http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2B68/production/_91521111_mediaitem91521108.jpg
S-330 missile launch system

Analysis: Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent

The deployment of S-300 surface-to-air missiles (known to Nato as the SA-23) to Russia's naval base at Tartus is the first time Russia has deployed the system outside its own territory. It joins another sophisticated anti-aircraft system, the S-400, already in place at the Russian air base near Latakia. The S-300 is highly mobile - its radars, launchers and command systems carried on a number of tracked vehicles. It can be mounted on a heavy wheeled launcher as well. It is one of the most lethal area defence systems ever developed intended to engage aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles. Its deployment indicates that Russia is significantly bolstering its air defences in Syria. This is a clear signal to Washington that there would be a heavy price to pay should the US be tempted to intervene in some way against Russian or Syrian operations.

How the S-300 missile system works

Fox News reported earlier quoting unnamed US officials that the system had been deployed at the weekend. In addition to the Tartus naval base, Russia uses the Hmeimim air base near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia. Last year, Moscow deployed the more advanced S-400 system there as it began conducting air strikes in Syria. On Monday, the US said it was suspending talks with Russia over Syria, accusing Moscow of having "failed to live up" to its commitments under the ceasefire deal. Washington blamed Russia and the Syrian government for intensifying attacks against civilians, including rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo. State department spokesman John Kirby said Moscow and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops had been "targeting critical infrastructure such as hospitals and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need, including through the 19 September attack on a humanitarian aid convoy". Moscow strongly denies involvement of its own or Syrian planes in the deadly aid convoy strike, and says the incident was caused by fire on the ground and not by an air strike.

MORE (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-37557138)

See also:

US Claims Right to Defend Against Russian Anti-Air Systems in Syria
Oct 04, 2016 | In a warning to Russia, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the U.S. maintains the right to self-defense against advanced anti-aircraft systems sent to Syria by Moscow.


"This is something that we take very, very seriously -- the safety of our aircrews," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in response to reports that Russia sent highly mobile S-300 anti-air missile systems (known to NATO as the SA-23) to its naval facility in the northwestern Syrian port of Tartus over the weekend. "Those aircrews have the inherent right to self-defense," Cook said at a Pentagon news conference. This marks the first time the system has been deployed outside Russian territory, according to the BBC. Last year, Russia deployed S-300s and the more advanced S-400 systems around its Khmeimim air base near the coastal city of Latakia, the hub of its air operations in support of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.


http://images02.military.com/media/news/equipment/russian-s300-1500-ts600.jpg
Russian air defense system missile system Antey 2500, or S-300 VM, is on display at the opening of the MAKS Air Show in Zhukovsky outside Moscow, Russia.

Russia has no need of advanced surface-to-air systems in Syria given its stated aim of focusing operations on the Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the al-Qaida affiliate formerly known as the Al-Nusra Front, Cook said. "The last I checked, the Russians said their primary goal was to fight extremism. Neither one of them has an air force," Cook said of the two militant organizations. "We're obviously tracking very closely" the placement of the Russian air defenses, he said. Already frayed U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated even further since the collapse of last month's "cessation of hostilities" in Syria and the fierce bombardment of Aleppo by Russian and Syrian air forces, with the intent of driving out rebels holding the eastern part of the city.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday announced that talks with the Russians on renewing the cease-fire had been suspended. Cook said U.S. air operations against ISIS in northeastern Syria are continuing. He also said that neither the White House nor the State Department has asked the Defense Department to plan for relief airdrops to Aleppo or to provide air cover for U.N. humanitarian convoys.

In a statement, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, confirmed that the S-300 system had been sent to Syria and questioned why the deployment raised U.S. concerns. "The S-300 anti-aircraft missile system has indeed been sent to the Syrian Arab Republic," Konashenkov said. "I remind you that the S-300 is a purely defensive system and poses no threat to anyone. It's not clear why the placement of S-300 in Syria has caused such a stir among our western colleagues."

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/10/04/us-claims-right-defend-russian-anti-air-systems-syria.html

waltky
10-08-2016, 06:38 AM
Not likely a no-fly zone gonna happen...
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Russia faces Security Council showdown Saturday over Syria
Oct 7,`16 -- International diplomatic pressure increased on Moscow on Friday to end the joint Russian-Syrian siege of the city of Aleppo, but Moscow's U.N. ambassador says he will most likely veto a U.N. Security Council resolution that would ground Russian warplanes.


Russia's parliament meanwhile ratified a treaty with Syria that allows its troops to stay indefinitely in the country, a show of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad. The siege by Syrian forces backed by Russian warplanes has inflicted immense suffering on civilians in the city's rebel-held eastern districts. A cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia collapsed last month and Washington-Moscow ties have deteriorated sharply; Russian lawmakers said ratifying the treaty with Syria on Friday was a necessary step to stand up to the U.S. The United States and Russia support opposite sides in the more than 5-year-old war - Moscow has been a staunch Assad ally and Washington backs Syrian rebels trying to oust him.

As Aleppo's misery dragged on, Russia's United Nations ambassador Vitaly Churkin rejected a French-proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that would call for grounding all aircraft, including Russia's, over Aleppo. The resolution, also calling for an Aleppo cease-fire, is to be considered Saturday but Churkin said, "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution to pass." In a last-minute move Friday, Russia introduced its own draft resolution urging "immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Syria," similar language to the French text.

But Russia's draft adds two new elements: It stresses "the urgent need to achieve and verify separating moderate forces from 'Jabhat Al-Nusra' as a key priority," a reference to the al-Qaida linked militant group. It also welcomes U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura's proposal for an al-Qaida-linked militant faction to leave Aleppo in exchange for a halt to Russian and Syrian government bombardment and asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present a plan to the council to implement it. The Security Council will vote Saturday first on the French draft and then on the Russia draft - and what is likely to happen is a Russian veto of the French draft and a veto of the Russian draft by France and its Western allies.

Russia's air campaign in Syria, launched a year ago, has reversed the tide of war and helped Assad's forces regain some key ground. Moscow says the goal of its military operation is to assist the Syrian army in the fight against terrorism. It rejects accusations of targeting civilians. Lawmakers in the Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously to approve the deal, which allows Russia to keep its forces at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, Assad's Alawite heartland, for as long as it wants. The deal was signed in August 2015 in Damascus, a month before the Russian air campaign began. Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus, the only such outpost outside the former Soviet Union. That base is not covered by the treaty, and some lawmakers say it could be the subject of a separate deal.

MORE (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-10-07-19-51-50)

See also:

East Aleppo facing total destruction...

UN envoy warns east Aleppo facing total destruction
Friday 7th October, 2016 - The UN's Syria envoy on Thursday made an impassioned appeal to save eastern Aleppo, warning the city faced total destruction and urging Islamist fighters to leave so civilians can get aid.


"In maximum two months, two and half months the city of eastern Aleppo may be totally destroyed," Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva. The rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo has been hammered by a Russian-backed government offensive, including multiple attacks on hospitals. De Mistura noted that the presence of Al-Nusra fighters in the city has been used as a justification by Moscow and Damascus for the continued assault.


http://cdn.bignewsnetwork.com/n241475768615.jpg

The former Al-Nusra Front has recently changed its name to Fateh al-Sham Front following a break with al-Qaeda, but many still see the two groups as tied. "Can you please look at my eyes," de Mistura said in a direct appeal to Nusra leaders, before pleading with them to quit Aleppo. "If you decide to leave with dignity, I am personally ready to physically accompany you," the UN envoy said.

The UN estimates that 275 000 civilians are under siege in east Aleppo, with aid deliveries all but impossible since government forces seized the last supply route in July.

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/248311227/un-envoy-warns-east-aleppo-facing-total-destruction

Related:

US urges war crimes investigation over Russia and Syria's campaign in Aleppo
Saturday 8th October, 2016 - The US has called for a war crimes investigation of Russia and Syria over the two countries' joint offensive in Aleppo. The move by US secretary of state John Kerry ramps up the rhetoric against Moscow for its part in the conflict, while potentially making it harder to resume diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.


Mr Kerry said Syrian forces had hit a hospital outside Damascus overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100. Human rights group also accused the two countries of killing thousands in their assault on Aleppo, Syria's largest city. Mr Kerry said: "Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities, and children and women. "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes. "They're beyond the accidental now, way beyond, years beyond the accidental. This is a targeted strategy to terrorise civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives."

The Russian foreign ministry said Mr Kerry was trying to divert attention from America's failure to uphold a ceasefire in Syria. "Kerry used these words from the point of view of fanning tensions," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "As long as war crimes are at question, the Americans should start with Iraq. And then look at Libya and Yemen to see what is going on there." The US has little chance of being able to initiate a war crimes probe of either Russia or Syria. Russia has veto power at the UN Security Council and has blocked repeated attempts over the last five and a half years to put pressure on Syrian president Bashar Assad's government or hold it accountable for the widespread allegations of indiscriminate killing, torture and chemical weapons attacks.

French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault spoke of a new French effort for a ceasefire in Syria that would include a UN Security Council vote on Saturday. But it is unclear what advantages his plan would have over the US-Russian led process that collapsed last month. Mr Kerry's September 9 agreement with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov would have created a new counter-terrorism alliance in Syria, had fighting stopped for a week and aid deliveries been permitted to reach desperate civilians in rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other besieged areas. Neither condition was ever met. The truce then shattered completely when Syria and Russia renewed their military offensive in Aleppo. Mr Kerry ended bilateral discussions with Russia on the military partnership earlier this week.

Mr Ayrault called Syria a "human tragedy" that demands every effort to restart a peace negotiation. He said Saturday would be a "moment of truth" at the Security Council. He said the question that will be posed to everyone, but particularly to Russia, is: "Do you, yes or no, want a ceasefire in Aleppo?" Such a ceasefire would be "open to discussion", but Mr Ayrault said two demands were absolute. "The first one is the ceasefire and no-fly zone over Aleppo," he said. "And the second pillar is access for humanitarian aid. We're not giving up." At the current rate of fighting, Mr Ayrault claimed, "Aleppo will be totally destroyed by Christmas". Russia will almost surely veto the French measure. "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass," Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.

MORE (http://www.independent.ie/world-news/us-urges-war-crimes-investigation-over-russia-and-syrias-campaign-in-aleppo-35112507.html)

Peter1469
10-08-2016, 07:14 AM
International organizations only have power insofar as nation-states allow it.

waltky
10-10-2016, 12:22 AM
Russia in it for the long haul...
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Russian parliament approves indefinite deployment of air force in Syria
Oct. 7, 2016 -- The Russian parliament ratified an agreement on Friday to deploy an air group indefinitely to Syria, according to an explanatory note from officials involved in the decision making.


The lower house of Russia's parliament, the State Duma, approved an agreement with Syrian leaders for the indefinite air force presence about a year after it was initially signed. The agreement goes into effect immediately and will allow Russia to keep its forces at the Khmeimim air base in the Syrian province of Latakia for as long as it desires.


http://cdnph.upi.com/sv/b/upi_com/UPI-3081475855450/2016/1/d57e82ca98a8c233db299a1f6468ab57/Russian-parliament-approves-indefinite-deployment-of-air-force-in-Syria.jpg

"Armaments, ammunition, equipment and materials necessary for the fulfillment of appropriate tasks by the Russian air group, for ensuring security and vital functions of its personnel, are delivered to Syria without any charges or tariffs," the Duma said in an explanatory note after the approval. "Russian air group personnel freely cross the border, and are not subject to any checks by Syrian border control or customs authorities."

The agreement was signed in August 2015, just before Russia launched its air campaign against the Islamic State in the country at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and was approved with the support of 446 lawmakers in the Duma.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/10/07/Russian-parliament-approves-indefinite-deployment-of-air-force-in-Syria/3081475855450/?spt=sec&or=tn

Peter1469
10-10-2016, 04:49 AM
They are actually specifically targeting Russia citizens fighting for the Islamic State. They are smart enough to realize it isn't wise to let them come come.

Unlike Obama.