SYRIA’S ASSAD PAYS A CALL TO THE KREMLIN
By Benny Avni
New York Sun
-a-call-to-the-kremlin/84353/
Aug 21 2008
NY
UNITED NATIONS — With Russia issuing new threats against America
over its planned missile shield, one of the Bush administration’s
least favorite Middle Eastern leaders, President al-Assad of Syria,
is on a two-day visit to the Russian resort city of Sochi, where he
is expressing support for the Kremlin’s war on Georgia and making
deals to buy fighter jets.
Russia’s confrontation with the West is escalating, with Moscow vowing
to respond — and not only through diplomacy — to America’s agreement
yesterday to deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland. Russia also
is countering Western calls for Georgia’s territorial integrity to be
recognized with a bill in the Russian parliament that would officially
recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the two
separatist regions of Georgia at the center of the Russia-Georgia
conflict.
"The war, which was triggered in Georgia, is the culmination of
attempts to encircle and isolate Russia," Mr. Assad told the Russian
daily Kommersant on the eve of a two-day visit to Sochi at President
Medvedev’s invitation. "Georgia started this crisis, but the West is
blaming Russia."
Asked about the purpose of his visit, Mr. Assad said, "Of course
military and technical cooperation is the main issue. Weapons purchases
are very important."
Syria reportedly is seeking to buy Russian MiG-31 fighter jets, as
well as help in revamping its air defense systems. Moscow has been
rebuilding the Syrian port of Tartus, which served as Russia’s main
Middle Eastern naval base during the Cold War. On his arrival in
Sochi yesterday, Mr. Assad agreed to let Russia reopen its base in
Tartus; with the pact signed, a fleet led by Russia’s sole aircraft
carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, a missile cruiser, the Moskva, and
several submarines is headed to the Mediterranean Sea from bases
in the northern Russian port city of Murmansk, the Russian Web site
newsru.com reported.
Mr. Assad’s visit is part of "our ongoing efforts to help put back on
track the settlement in the Middle East," the Russian ambassador to the
United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, told The New York Sun, rejecting any
linkage between Mr. Medvedev’s invitation and Russia’s confrontation
with the West over Georgia. The trip is "the usual bilateral thing,"
Syria’s U.N. ambassador, Bashar Jaafari, added.
But the hastily arranged visit raised some eyebrows in Israel. "It
is very important for Russia to gain a military foothold in the
Mediterranean," the Israeli author Gideon Remez, whose recent book,
"Foxbats Over Dimona," focuses on the Soviet military intervention
in the Middle East in the 1960s, said. "Syria is part of what Moscow
considers the ‘near abroad.’ So if you ask me whether this is part
of renewed alliances along Cold War lines, the answer is yes, and
for Israel this is a very dangerous game."
The Kremlin has put increasing pressure on Israeli officials in recent
months, arguing that if Israel wants Russia not to arm its enemies
Iran and Syria, it should end its military support for Russia’s foes —
and specifically for Georgia, where Israeli arms dealers and military
trainers have been active since President Saakashvili gained power
in early 2004. Yielding to Russian pressure, Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni reportedly leaned successfully on the defense contractors,
who then largely ended Israel’s military activities in Georgia.
"Whether it’s the right thing to do or not, we shouldn’t end our
support for Georgia just because the Russians don’t like it, because
I simply don’t believe their promises," Mr. Remez said.
Hezbollah and Hamas routinely used Russian-made Katyusha and Grad
missiles against Israel after Russia sells them to Syria and Iran, he
added, noting that Iranian and Russian interests are now converging. In
the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, he said, Iran supports
Russia’s ally Armenia, which has a largely Christian population,
against mostly Shiite Azerbaijan.
Secretary of State Rice was in Warsaw yesterday, where she officially
signed the deal to deploy part of America’s missile shield on Polish
land. "Missile defense, of course, is aimed at no one," she said. But
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that if the system is
deployed, the Kremlin "will be forced to react, and not only through
diplomatic demarches."
Russia’s response "bordered on the bizarre," Ms. Rice said.
In Moscow, the Duma was called for an emergency session, scheduled for
Monday, to consider new legislation that would officially recognize
the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Daily Telegraph
reported. A French proposal for a U.N. Security Council resolution that
called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia immediately and
recognize its "independence and territorial integrity" was rejected
by Moscow on Tuesday. Instead, Mr. Churkin yesterday proposed a
counter-resolution that omits any mention of Georgia’s territorial
integrity.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
