(Moscow News – Anna Arutunyan, Correspondent and Editor at themoscownews.com – June 24, 2013) In the geopolitical drama over the ongoing Syrian civil war, Russia’s position, on the surface, appears to be clear as glass. Of course Russia’s backing Syrian authoritarian leader Bashar al Assad, the narrative goes – it fears a similar uprising back home. Actually, the Kremlin’s stance […]
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(Interfax – LOUGH ERNE, June 18, 2013) Only independent and serious expert analysis can establish the truth about the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons. Empty claims cannot be accepted, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. “We cannot agree with unilateral arguments and empty claims that the Syrian government uses chemical weapons. We need to draw the most […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – June 19, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin bristled over claims that he alone was opposing seven world leaders over how to deal with the Syria conflict during the G8 Summit this week in Northern Ireland. Asked by a reporter if he felt “lonely,” Putin said: “Of course not. That’s absolutely not true. […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – June 18, 2013) With the G8 summit in full swing in Northern Ireland, the world’s leaders try to tackle financial and international challenges including tax evasion, the Middle East stand-off, the Syrian crisis and the North Korea nuclear problem. G8 leaders began their two-day summit at the […]
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(Interfax – June 17, 2013) Analysts believe that the leaders of Russia and the United States at their bilateral meeting in the framework of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland are likely to pay most of their attention to the Syrian conflict and preparations for the Geneva conference on Syria. “I believe with a probability of 60 percent or even […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 14, 2013) Russia is not planning to deliver S-300 air defense systems to Syria, despite the announcement by the US administration on Thursday of its intention to supply the Syrian opposition with weaponry, a presidential aide said on Friday. “The issue has not been raised yet,” aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in Moscow in […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 12, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he hopes that the recent peace initiatives, including the Russian-U.S. idea to convene an international conference, will provide the chance for settling the crisis in Syria. “I really hope that the initiatives that were proposed, among others, by the Egyptian president, with whom we recently met in Sochi […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 11, 2013) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticized the West’s “double standards” in dealing with foreign regimes it has branded as dictatorial, and defended Russia’s arms contracts with Syria. Speaking in a recent interview with America’s CBS network released on Monday evening, Lavrov said the West had a policy of double standards in […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 7, 2013) Western support for Syria’s armed opposition will only fuel violence in the war-torn country, Russia’s foreign minister insisted on Friday. “We are disturbed by statements coming from leaders of the so-called Free Syrian Army as well as from some US representatives, to the effect that support for the armed opposition will continue in […]
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(Interfax – PIONERSKY, Kaliningrad region, June 6, 2013) Turkey has still not clarified reports that militants possessing sarin were detained on its territory some time ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “I would like to seize this opportunity to remind you that we still expect full information from our Turkish partners regarding reports, which came about a week ago, […]
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(RIA Novosti – New York, June 7, 2013) The United Nations would welcome Russian peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told RIA Novosti on Friday. “The UN welcomes any contribution by the world community to peacemaking efforts in the Golan Heights, and the UNDOF [UN Disengagement Observer Force] is very important for the maintenance of peace […]
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(RIA Novosti – May 30, 2013) Establishing a no-fly zone over Syria will be the beginning of the aggression of the USA and its allies against that country, Igor Korotchenko, head of the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade, has said as reported by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on 30 May. “Establishing a no-fly zone is a […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Ilyashenko, special to RBTH – May 31, 2013) Some Russian pundits believe that the upcoming international conference on Syria indicates that the U.S. and EU want to distance themselves from the Syrian conflict, because it is clearly becoming a burden to them. The opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are clearly not […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 29, 2013) Moscow believes that some Persian Gulf countries supported by the United States and other Western countries are hampering the convention of a new international conference on Syria, Kommersant reported in its Wednesday issue. “The position and provocations (by Persian Gulf countries) are possibly the main factor complicating the convention of the conference,” Kommersant cited […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 30, 2013) Reports that Syria’s president had confirmed receiving a consignment of Russian-manufactured S-300 air defense systems emerged Thursday, but were quickly brought into question. In comments widely reported across the world, Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar quoted Syrian President Bashar Assad as saying Damascus had received initial deliveries of the S-300 system. Assad’s remarks […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, May 28, 2013) Russia and the USA have not yet succeeded in aligning their positions on a number of important parameters for an international conference on Syria, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. “There remain issues and aspects of this major international crisis on which the positions of Russia and the USA have not converged,” Ryabkov said […]
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(Interfax – May 24, 2013) Russia needs “clear and reliable” guarantees that US missile defences will not be aimed against it and will take “military-technical” measures in response to their deployment, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev has told Interfax news agency. “They will be taken as required, as the USA progresses in the creation of its missile […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, May 23, 2013) Radical groups in Syria will continue to impose their conditions of forming a government system even if the election of a new president is held in the republic, and this can provoke the collapse of the country, the chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, […]
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(Alexey Eremenko, RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 24, 2013) Ten months after the bloodshed in Syria was formally recognized as a civil war by the Red Cross, Moscow and Washington are finally working together to end it, at least in terms of public diplomacy. The plan is to hold a conference tentatively scheduled for June where the Syrian […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Ilyashenko, special to RBTH – May 21, 2013) The campaign to resolve the Syrian crisis has entered a new phase. However, if the upcoming international conference, dubbed Geneva-2, focuses entirely on increasing the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, there will be a long way to go before peace is achieved in the […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 17, 2013) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday responded to a New York Times report that Russia has sent advanced antiship cruise missiles to war-torn Syria by saying that Russian arms deliveries do not change the balance of power, are fully legal and take place under existing contracts. Citing unidentified American officials, The […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mark Galeotti, special to RBTH – April 15, 2013) Mark Galeotti is Professor of Global Affairs at New York University. His blog, ‘In Moscow’s Shadows,’ can be read here: inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/ The result of the Syrian crisis is likely to affect Russia’s positions in the world and influence in the Middle East. At the […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yevgeny Shestakov, special to RBTH – April 9, 2013) Yevgeny Shestakov is international politics editor at Rossiyskaya Gazeta. International politics analyst Yevgeny Shestakov considers Russia and the U.S. should not resolve their differences via international conflicts like the Syria crisis. Events in civil war-torn Syria have demonstrated the lamentable inability of Russia and […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Oleg Fomichev, RBTH – April 5, 2013) Russian experts disagree on whether or not a political solution in Syria is still possible. This April marks the second anniversary of the Syrian uprising. Unlike the other Arab revolutions, it can be characterized by its deep involvement of Russian interests. While Moscow remains critical of […]
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MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) – The West has opted for a course to overthrow Bashar al-Assad by supporting rebels, not by launching a military operation, said Alexei Pushkov, the chairman of the State Duma’s International Affairs Committee. “Apparently, the stage of political maneuvers is drawing to its close. The West is passing over to a modified Libyan scenario in Syria […]
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(Interfax – March 29, 2013) Interview Deputy NATO Secretary General Alexander Vershbow, who is visiting Moscow for an informal conference of former U.S. ambassadors to Russia and Russian ambassador to the United States, has given an interview to Interfax in which he speaks about NATO-Russia cooperation, as well as pressing issues on the international agenda, such as the missile defense […]
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MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) – A replay of the Libyan scenario by NATO forces in Syria would be a major strategic mistake, says Russian permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov. “If this is an element of some political pressure, it is one situation, which I think is unlikely to help the cause. If this is serious, this is even […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, March 20, 2013) The chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Aleksey Pushkov, has said that the USA, which suffered a serious political defeat as a result of the war in Iraq initiated by it 10 years ago, was still carrying on a similar policy towards other Middle East countries, in particular Syria. “The Americans’ […]
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(Bloomberg News – bloomberg.com – March 20, 2013) China anticipates a breakthrough in energy talks during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow this week, an achievement that may strengthen ties between neighbors wary of U.S. motives on issues from Iran to Asia policy. China wants to sign an agreement on a natural-gas pipeline during Xi’s three-day trip this week, Vice […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, March 15, 2013) According to Russian political analysts, after two years since its beginning, the Syrian conflict has expanded to a regional level, which means that the situation in the Arab world will stabilize only after several generations. “There is certainly a risk that the conflict will spread. It is quite obvious that the conflict is spreading […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines/Interfax – rbth.ru – March 15, 2013) Russian political scientists speculate that increasing instability in the Arab world could further exacerbate the Syrian conflict and heighten tensions in the Middle East. The Syrian conflict has taken on a regional scale since it broke out two years ago, Russian political scientists said, adding that the chance of restoring […]
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MOSCOW, March 12 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow criticized on Tuesday what it described as the United States’ biased interpretation of the Geneva Communiqué as supporting the Syrian opposition. “Public statements by representatives of the US administration in support of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces in fact point to a one-sided interpretation of the Geneva Communique,” Russian […]
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[Russia won’t tell Assad to go, sees flexibility among his foes – Reuters – Steve Gutterman – March 8, 2013 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/08/us-syria-crisis-russia-idUSBRE9270GB20130308] Reuters covers Russian policy towards the bloodshed and potential regime change in Syria, including recent public comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov disavowing a call for Syrian strong-man Basha Al-Assad to step down peacefully: Russia will ‘absolutely […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Ekaterina Zabrovskaya, Nikolay Surkov, RBTH – February 27, 2013) Moscow sees U.S. objection to a U.N. statement condemning the recent terrorist attack in Syria as a double standard. The discussion of a U.N. Security Council statement condemning the latest terrorist attack in Damascus, that killed 53, has engendered yet another upsurge in Moscow’s […]
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BERLIN, February 26 (RIA Novosti) The United States and Russia will do “everything possible” to facilitate a dialogue between the Syrian government and the armed opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday in Berlin following his first bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry. “No one will solve the Syrians’ problems for them, but in order for […]
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MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow’s position on Syria stems from its concern for the Syrian people, and not the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. “Russia’s position is not predetermined by support of personalities; it is dictated by concern about the fate of the Syrian people, our long-standing friend and partner, and […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Nikolay Surkov, special to RBTH – February 19, 2013) Nikolay Surkov is an assistant professor at Moscow State Institute of Foreign Affairs While Western actors push for the creation of an interim government in Syria, Russia is pessimistic about chances for improvement in the situation. Moscow sees no state willing to guarantee such […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, 1 February) The events in Syria, Algeria and Mali are interrelated and demonstrate the multi-faceted nature of the modern terrorist threat, Aleksandr Zmeyevskiy, the Russian president’s special representative on international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime, has said. “Al-Qa’idah and its partners in this unsavoury business seriously intend to take power in states. […]
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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov – January 10, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, an authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments, online at http://eng.globalaffairs.ru/ The year 2013 began much like 2012 with news of fighting in Syria and predictions that the tide is about to turn in the […]
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(Al-Monitor – www.al-monitor.com – Fyodor Lukyanov – January 8, 2013 – http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/syria-assad-speech-russia.html) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, an authoritative Russian journal devoted to foreign policy and international relations, online at http://eng.globalaffairs.ru/. Addressing the nation for the first time in over six months, Syrian President Bashar Assad thanked Russia for its efforts to help find a political […]
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[How to Work with Russia on Syria – The National Interest – Paul J. Saunders – January 7, 2013 – http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/how-work-russia-syria-7935] Paul J. Saunders writes in The National Interest on U.S. policy towards Syria, and whether there is a window of opportunity for a negotiated resolution of the conflict, with a particular eye on the potential for Russia to cooperate […]
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[Russia’s Syria Support Said to be a Losing Proposition – Vedomosti – Vladislav Inozemtsev, doctor of economic sciences, director of the Center for Study of the Post-Industrial Society – December 24, 2012 – no accessible link] Vladislav Inozemtsev writes in Vedomosti on Russia’s Syria policy, also focusing strongly on economic factors such as oil, gas and Syrian debt. At the […]
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