Russia: Hands Off Syria and Iran

[longbrained]

Hands off Syria and Iran: Russia


RUSSIA has made clear it will not support any Western military intervention in Syria or Iran, warning that such a course could lead to nuclear war.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...-and-iran-russia/story-fn9hkofv-1226360612995


In Moscow's strongest declaration to date, Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev said the two countries should be allowed to sort out their own affairs, signalling that the Kremlin's resistance to any intervention was hardening.

"Hasty military operations in foreign states usually bring radicals to power," he said.

"At some point such actions, which undermine state sovereignty, may lead to a full-scale regional war, even, although I do not want to frighten anyone, with the use of nuclear weapons."

Mr Medvedev issued the warning before departing for this weekend's Group of Eight meeting in the US, which will discuss Syria and Iran.

The comments came as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said al-Qa'ida may have been behind the two mass bombings in Damascus on May 10 that killed 55 people and wounded hundreds.

"Very alarmingly and surprisingly, a few days ago there was a huge serious massive terrorist attack," he said. "I believe there must be al-Qa'ida behind it."

The US is expected to argue at the G8 summit that tougher action needs to be taken against Syria and that Iran was not responding to pressure to allow access to its nuclear facilities.

Russia has steadfastly refused to support a resolution at the UN Security Council calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign.

And Moscow has rejected calls by countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar to provide weapons to the rebel Free Syrian Army, which developed out of the protest movement, to try to overthrow the Assad regime.

Russia's publicly stated reason for refusing to back intervention in Syria is that the UN resolution on Libya, which it reluctantly supported, was abused.

The UN supported a no-fly-zone against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, but NATO began months of bombing, which it said was necessary to disable Libya's military forces before it could enforce the no-fly-zone.

Russia claimed Britain and France turned the operation from defensive to offensive, and Moscow frequently cites Libya as a reason why the UN Security Council cannot be trusted with any sweeping resolution.

Russia is also profiting from the crisis, and its sales of weapons to Syria are estimated to have risen about 20 per cent, to $US1.5 billion ($1.52bn), in the past year.

Britain's UN ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, has criticised Russia for continuing to export arms to Syria: "It is glaringly obvious that transferring weapons into a volatile and violent situation is irresponsible and will only fuel the bloodshed."

More than 10,000 people are believed to have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in May last year.

In recent months, the crisis has changed from a protest movement to a civil war, with the rebel Free Syrian Army trying to overthrow the Assad regime.

 

[Don Jaguar]

Uncle sam is still not tired of useless wars?

 

[King Solomon]

Of course. The only reason why US has not intervened yet is because of the Russian naval presence there. I posted another topic with a debkafile report which was ridiculed by most people as fantasy/fabrication. But facts are becoming clear and clearer day by day.

Syria, at present, is a secular regime that respects all people. Poverty rate as reported in 2006 is only 13%, one of the lowest in the world.

While Syrian people have the right to protest against the regime, what is happening in Syria is not such a legitimate revolution but it is an armed/terrorist uprising similar to what happened in libya. For the natives in the forum, it would be akin to the taliban insurgency in pakistan, only to a much greater scale. Had it been a peaceful revolution like that of Egypt there would be no problem. But we must differentiate between terrorist uprising and a peaceful revolution.

It is true Russia is benefiting from the crisis but it is for the good of Syrian people. Syrian regime sold $30b worth of bonds to Russia and China for UN veto and ensured weapon supply.

 

[somebozo]

Of course. The only reason why US has not intervened yet is because of the Russian naval presence there. I posted another topic with a debkafile report which was ridiculed by most people as fantasy/fabrication. But facts are becoming clear and clearer day by day.

Syria, at present, is a secular regime that respects all people. Poverty rate as reported in 2006 is only 13%, one of the lowest in the world.

While Syrian people have the right to protest against the regime, what is happening in Syria is not such a legitimate revolution but it is an armed/terrorist uprising similar to what happened in libya. For the natives in the forum, it would be akin to the taliban insurgency in pakistan, only to a much greater scale. Had it been a peaceful revolution like that of Egypt there would be no problem. But we must differentiate between terrorist uprising and a peaceful revolution.

It is true Russia is benefiting from the crisis but it is for the good of Syrian people. Syrian regime sold $30b worth of bonds to Russia and China for UN veto and ensured weapon supply.

The uprising is concentrated in part of Homs and Hama which are tradition strongholds of rebellious Taliban type people so until it starts happening in other parts of the country we should hold our horses on Syria.

 

[longbrained]

Well Putin is back. So things are going to be a bit different from now on:

 

[lem34]

Two great nations with two great leaders. I look forward to the day when Pakistan has true leaders instead of thieves and crooks who allow themselves to be bribed and or bullied

I am surprised that Chinese are not more vocal and supportive but then they tend to be low key

 

[Mahmoud_EGY]

mr putin is a good man i wish we have someone like him running for presdient in egypt

 

[lem34]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^You can have religious people who are honest and care about their people. You can have atheists who are good people and care about their own people

 

[King Solomon]

Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev says action on Syria, Iran may go nuclear

MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned on Thursday that military action against sovereign states could lead to a regional nuclear war, starkly voicing Moscow's opposition to Western intervention ahead of a G8 summit at which Syria and Iran will be discussed.

"Hasty military operations in foreign states usually bring radicals to power," Medvedev, president for four years until Vladimir Putin's inauguration on May 7, told a conference in St. Petersburg in remarks posted on the government's website.

"At some point such actions which undermine state sovereignty may lead to a full-scale regional war, even, although I do not want to frighten anyone, with the use of nuclear weapons," Medvedev said. "Everyone should bear this in mind."

Medvedev gave no further explanation. Nuclear-armed Russia has said publicly that it is under no obligation to protect Syria if it is attacked, and analysts and diplomats say Russia would not get involved in military action if Iran were attacked.

Russia has adamantly urged Western nations not to attack Iran to neutralise its nuclear programme or intervene against the Syrian government over bloodshed in which the United Nations says its forces have killed more than 9,000 people.

Medvedev will represent Russia at the Group of Eight summit in place of Putin, whose decision to stay away from the meeting in the United States was seen as muscle-flexing in the face of the West.

Putin said previously that threats will only encourage Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Analysts have said that Medvedev also meant that regional nuclear powers such as Israel, Pakistan and India could get involved into a conflict.

As president, Medvedev instructed Russia to abstain in a U.N. Security Council vote on a resolution that authorised NATO intervention in Libya, a decision Putin implicitly criticised when he likened the resolution to "medieval calls for crusades".

Medvedev rebuked Putin for the remark, and some Kremlin insiders have said the confrontation over Libya was a factor in Putin's decision to return to the presidency this year instead of letting his junior partner seek a second term.

Russia has since accused NATO of overstepping its mandate under the resolution to help rebels oust long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, and has warned it will not let anything similar happen in Syria.

Since Putin announced plans last September to seek a third presidential term and make Medvedev prime minister, Russia has vetoed two Security Council resolutions condemning Assad's government, one of which would have called on him to cede power.

Russia's G8 liaison Arkady Dvorkovich said Russia will try to influence the final version of the G8 statement at a summit in Camp David this weekend to avoid a "one-sided" approach that would favour the Syrian opposition.

"In the G8 final statement we would like to avoid the recommendations similar to those which were forced upon during the preparations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions," Dvorkovich said. "A one-sided signal is not acceptable for us."

Russia successfully managed to water down the part of the statement on Syria at a G8 summit in France in May 2011, removing the calls for action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"We believe that the United Nations is the main venue to discussing such issues," Dvorkovich said.

LAST APPEARANCE

The G8 summit is likely to be the last appearance among all the leaders of industrialised nations for Medvedev, who embraced U.S. President Barack Obama's "reset", improving strained ties between the nations. Dvorkovich said Putin's absence from the summit, the first time a Russian president has skipped one, would not affect the outcome: "All the leaders, I saw their reaction, are ready to comprehensively work with the chairman of the government (Medvedev)."

Dvorkovich said that at a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Medvedev will raise opposition to attempts by some U.S. lawmakers to introduce legislation which will address human rights violations in Russia.

Such legislation could take a form of the so-called Sergei Magnitsky bill, named after the Russian lawyer who died in prison in 2009. The Kremlin human rights council says he was probably beaten to death.

The bill would require the United States to deny visas and freeze the assets of Russians or others with links to his detention and death as well as those who commit other human rights violations.

"New legislation which will address new political issues as imagined by some U.S. congressmen or senators is unacceptable," Dvorkovich said, promising retaliation.

 

[bdslph]

Thanks Russia Putin to Support Syria and Iran

 

[T-Rex]

I don't think the americans believe what the Russians are saying. They think the Russians are bluffing. The US is about to strike, the question is where? It may attack Syria, it may attack Iran or it may attack both.