Category Archives: Russia

The Memo to Russia, ‘We are All Concerned’

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Via the U.S. State Department:We, the Governments of France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States of America state the following in view of the recent military actions of the Russian Federation in Syria:

Begin Text:

We express our deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria and especially ‎the attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs and Idlib which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da’esh. These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalization. We call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL.

End text…..sheesh right?  Turkey posted the same text.

Russia keeps bombing. In fact, Russia is using old dumb bombs and cluster munitions rather than precision guided munitions which are dropped manually and further, more than 100 countries have signed on to eliminate use of cluster munitions. The U.S. is not a signatory however, America has eliminated their use.

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Per ISW: Russia mobilized and transported forces and equipment to Syria under the guise of military exercises. e link between Russia’s arrival at the naval base at Tartus and its military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean are clear, and the proximity in time of Russia’s deployment into Syria and its Center 2015 exercise indicates that these military exercises served as preludes or covers for deployments. Russia is -exing its military power and basing in more than one location. On September 8, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow was prepared to establish airbases in the former Soviet countries making up the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) alliance. On September 19, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree calling for Russia’s foreign and defense ministries to conduct negotiations with Minsk to establish a Russian air base in Belarus. Two new ground force bases are in development near Russia’s border with government-controlled northeastern Ukraine, suggesting that Russia will maintain its aggressive military posture toward Ukraine in the coming years. Russia’s activities in Syria appear to be part of a larger strategy aimed at bolstering its security, political and economic interests from the eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia.

Indiscriminate targets:

How Russia bombed a UN Heritage Site in Syria

Ana Maria Luca & Myra Abdallah

An area of over six square kilometers ignited all of a sudden. The whole region was ablaze in seconds. Kafranbel-based Raed Fares said he has seen the town being bombed by the Syrian regime before. “But I have never seen anything like this in my life,” he told NOW, minutes after the Russian jets had bombed the outskirts of his town. “I don’t know what kind of missile this was, but the impact was huge, scary.”

 

The Russian jets showed up around noon on Thursday and the bomb hit an archeological Byzantine complex in the vicinity of Kafranbel. “It used to be a refugee camp until recently, but the Free Syrian Army brigades returned the civilians to their homes in the towns in the area so that the historical monuments wouldn’t be damaged,” he said.

Kafranbel is a small town in Syria’s Idlib Governorate. Before the war it was home to roughly 15,000 people, mostly Sunni Muslims. It was Syria’s largest producer of figs and a major producer of olives. It also sits on a dead Byzantine city and is surrounded by some of the famous Forgotten Cities, the 700 abandoned settlements in northwest Syria between Aleppo and Idlib that were abandoned between the 8th and 10th centuries. Serjilla, Shanshrah, and Al-Bara are close to modern-day Kafranbel. The Russians bombed Shanshrah, a UN World Heritage Site, twice on Thursday.

 

A map of the Russian airstrikes in Syria. (NOW/Tania Radwan/Source: The Institute for the Study of War)

 

The US-backed rebels and the Byzantine ruins

 

The Forgotten Cities, many frozen in time, trace the transition from ancient pagan Rome to Christian Byzantium. But during the Syrian war, refugees that fled the regime’s bombings found shelter in the Byzantine ruins. Most of them came from Maarat Naaman and Jabal al-Zawye, an activist from Kafranbel told NOW. They built houses on the ruins and rebuilt rooms with broken walls and simply lived there. They also lived in the ancient caves that once served as cemeteries, the activist said.

 

According to Khaled Issa, a freelance photojournalist based in Kafranbel, an Ahrar al-Sham brigade and a group of the town’s residents that police the area decided to evacuate the displaced people and move them to Kafranbel. The militants set up checkpoints around the ruins to protect them from damage and theft. “It is a touristic area, it has a green field. Fortunately, today is a day off and it’s very possible that there were no civilians there,” he told NOW.

 

The activist in Kafranbel told NOW that residents expected the town itself to be bombed. “We think the air strikes targeted Ahrar al-Sham. We have no Islamic State militants here,” he insisted.

 

 

The little Syrian town that could

 

Kafranbel has become famous over the past two years not for its ancient ruins but for the residents’ witty banners and social media campaigns against the Assad regime. Raed Fares is the man behind the town’s Twitter account, Facebook page and the town’s website Liberated Kafranbel. Activists there have conquered the Internet with their amusing banners and posts in English. The latest was about Russia: “It is queer to let the Russian bear destroy Syria, while the US donkey is enjoying chewing hey [sic] on its borders,” it read.

 

Kafranbel is a well-known center of the opposition against Assad, but it has never been taken over by extremist groups and ISIS has kept away. “The closest ISIS location to Kafranbel is at least 100 kilometers away. Those ruins were protected by Ahrar al-Sham brigades and Kafranbel residents because they were stolen and damaged many times,” Issa said.

 

Fares said that their relentless secular spirit is what kept the extremist factions at bay. “We are fighting Al-Nusra Front, ISIS and other extremists;we are fighting them over the radio stations, organizing demonstrations, publishing magazines, spraying graffiti on walls; by opening centers to support women, and psychological support centers for children. We also have centers to document human rights violations,” Fares said.

 

 

Why was Kafranbel targeted?

 

Kafranbel hosts a few rebel brigades that many residents simply call the Free Syrian Army: Ahrar al-Sham, local unaffiliated groups and Foursan al-Haq [The Righteous Knights].

 

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the Russian military selects its targets in cooperation with the Syrian Army. “We have a list of terrorist organizations. We know them,” he said. It’s the first time that a Moscow official has admitted that the Russian air strikes are not just targeting ISIS, but also other rebel groups.

 

In the meantime, Reuters quoted well-informed Lebanese sources as saying that Russia, Iran and the Syrian government are planning a ground offensive in northern Syria. The report claims that hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join Hezbollah and the Syrian regime for a major ground offensive in Idlib and Hama Countryside, to be backed by Russian airstrikes.

 

Thursday was the second day Russia conducted strikes on rebel targets in Syria. On Wednesday, Russia struck several of what what it said were ISIS targets in mountainous areas in Hama and Homs Governorates, but opposition sources said that fewer extremist groups were hit and 40 civilians, including 8 children, had been killed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the reports of civilian casualties had not been verified.

 

“The Russians must leave us alone; we can settle our own things,” Fares told NOW. “They came here to hit the Free Syrian Army factions only. If they just want to hit ISIS as they are claiming, let them go to Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold. They came just to support Bashar Assad and his regime and to hit the Free Syrian Army factions.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pentagon Will Not Share ISIS Intelligence with Russia

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What we DO know about the Islamic State leadership:

Actual Treasury designations listed here.

Treasury and State Department Target Islamic State Financiers –

Jonathan Schanzer 29th September 2015 – FDD Policy Brief The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this morning the terrorism designations of 15 Islamic State (IS) terrorism facilitators. The U.S. Department of State also issued designations against a separate tranche of IS-linked entities and individuals. The designations reveal several important things about Washington’s understanding of the organization and its efforts to combat it. First, the designation list underscores the global reach of IS to include: Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Caucasus, France, Russia, Algeria, Egypt, Tajikistan, and Bosnia. The expansive network is an indicator of the challenges ahead for the U.S.-led Counter-ISIL Finance Group and the pressing need for global cooperation. The overlap between IS and al-Qaeda affiliate groups on the Treasury list is also striking. For example, Mu’tassim Yahya ‘Ali al-Rumaysh coordinated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front to facilitate the travel of IS members. Similarly, Mounir Ben Dhaou Ben Brahim Ben Helal provided material support to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and worked to assist foreign terrorist fighters’ travel throughout North Africa to join IS. These designations would seem to challenge the notion that al-Qaeda and IS are competing. Indeed, if these designations are indicators, the two global jihadist groups may be cooperating. The Treasury designations also reinforce the centrality of Turkey to IS finance. Three individuals (al-Rumaysh, Tarad Mohammad Aljarba, and Morad Laaboudi) were all identified as having facilitated the transfer of foreign fighters between Turkey and Syria. While U.S. officials claim there has been a marked improvement in Turkey on this score, the Treasury designations tell another, more troubling story. The designation of individuals on the ground in Syria and Iraq is a good sign for U.S. intelligence. The prevailing assumption is that intelligence collection has been limited amidst the escalating chaos. These designations, particularly those issued by the Treasury, seem to indicate that the U.S. has increased its collection capabilities – a crucial component in the effort to defeat IS. Today’s designations are the result of hundreds of man-hours in research, demonstrating a renewed seriousness on the part of the Obama administration to combat IS. Unfortunately, the impact of today’s designations will be limited. Most, if not all, of the actors identified do not transact through the formal financial sector. Designations are a limited tool that must ultimately supplement a broader Syria strategy that the administration has yet to formulate. – See more at: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/schanzer-jonathan-treasury-and-state-department-target-islamic-state-financiers/#sthash.exGCCX7u.dpuf

The Pentagon is taking a hard line against Russia’s intervention in Syria yet the Obama National Security Council refuses to allow military latitude in air operations. The Pentagon is essentially in revolt however their operations are stifled and intelligence cooperation will not occur with Russia even as it becomes compromised.

GateStone Institute:

  • The increasingly erratic conduct of one of Africa’s more despotic rulers, as well as his tilt toward China, is raising serious concerns about the future of a vital American intelligence-gathering base that plays a central role in targeting al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants in countries such as Yemen and Syria.
  • It will be the first time a head of state has been ordered to appear before a British court since King Charles I of England in 1649, who was subsequently beheaded for treason.

The increasingly erratic conduct of one of Africa’s more despotic rulers is raising serious concerns about the future of a vital American intelligence-gathering base that plays a central role in targeting al-Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS) militants in countries such as Yemen and Syria.

Since coming to power 1999, President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, has emerged as a vital ally of the United States, in spite of his despotic style of government and mounting criticism over his country’s lamentable record on human rights.

Successive American administrations — including that of President Barack Obama, who claims to champion greater democracy in Africa — have willingly turned a blind eye to Mr. Guelleh’s dictatorial style, in return for being allowed to operate the Camp Lemonnier military base that is located in the strategically-important African state.

Sited at the junction between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the sprawling Camp Lemmonier complex, which houses 4,500 U.S. military personnel and is the only U.S. military based located in Africa, has developed into one of America’s key listening posts since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Apart from being a sophisticated communications centre for the Arab world and beyond, it also houses U.S. Special Forces, fighter planes and helicopters, as well as being a major operational center for drone operations in Africa and the Middle East.

But the unpredictable behaviour of Mr. Guelleh, who has been summoned to make an unprecedented appearance at a London court next month, has prompted senior counter-terrorism officials in Washington to question whether the U.S. can afford to maintain its decade-long alliance with the Djibouti strongman.

Mr. Guelleh will certainly find himself under intense scrutiny next week, after a judge at London’s Commercial Court, which is hearing fraud claims lodged by the Djibouti government, took the extraordinary decision to rule that Mr. Guelleh must appear in person, rather than via video link, when the court resumes its hearings on October 5. The judge made the order after Mr. Guelleh’s legal team were accused of deliberately misleading the court. It will be the first time a head of state has been ordered to appear before a British court since King Charles I of England in 1649, who was subsequently beheaded for treason.

But while this unique twist in the forthcoming legal proceedings is likely to dominate the headlines when the case resumes, it is the effect Mr. Guelleh’s erratic conduct is having on Djibouti’s political stability, as well as the country’s worrying tilt towards China, that is causing most concern for the Pentagon.

In recent months Mr. Guelleh has intensified his efforts to form a strategic partnership with China, which is keen to expand its military presence throughout the African continent. China, which is already contracted to build a railway linking Djibouti to Ethiopia, has negotiated a $400 million deal to develop Djibouti’s port facilities, a development Pentagon officials believe will lead to China establishing its own military presence just a few miles from the highly sensitive Camp Lemonnier complex.

China’s foothold in Djibouti, moreover, has raised fears in Washington that Mr. Guelleh is turning away from his erstwhile ally in the U.S., with all the implications that could have for the future operational security of Camp Lemmonier.

Consequently, senior policymakers in Washington are now hoping to prevent Mr. Guelleh from running for a fourth term in office when the next round of presidential elections are held next year. Certainly, if China continues with its plans to establish a military presence in the Horn of Africa, the Pentagon will have to give serious consideration to relocating some of Camp Lemonnier’s more sensitive operations elsewhere.

“The trade deal between Djibouti and China has raised serious concerns with regard to Camp Lemonnier,” commented a senior U.S. security official. “There are now genuine concerns that if President Guelleh gets too close to China, then he may be tempted to impose restrictions on U.S. access to the base, which would seriously impact on the West’s counter-terrorism operations against Islamic State and al-Qaeda.”

If Mr. Guelleh continues with his confrontational approach towards Washington, then Mr. Obama is likely to come under pressure to press for political reform in Djibouti, thereby ending the president’s long-running dictatorship. After all, it was only last July that Mr. Obama, in his keynote speech to the African Union, made a scathing attack on Africa’s culture of presidents-for-life, urging the continent’s leaders to follow the example of George Washington and Nelson Mandela by respecting term limits — a warning is particularly pertinent so far as Mr. Guelleh is concerned.

Con Coughlin is the Defence Editor at Daily Telegraph, London

 

Netanyahu Exposes the United Nations and Iran’s Silence

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Netanyahu in Fiery Speech, Blasts UN Silence on Iran Threats

In angry oration, PM says: ‘It’s not easy to oppose something that’s supported by greatest powers in the world, but I refuse to be silent.’
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took the podium on Thursday at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, speaking at the UN headquarters just a day after Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced he was no longer bound by the 1994 Oslo Accords from the same platform.

He began his speech by saying: “After three days of listening to world leaders praising the deal with Iran, I begin my speech by saying, ladies and gentlemen, check your enthusiasm at the door. This deal doesn’t make peace more likely. By fueling Iran’s aggressions by billions of dollars in sanctions relief it makes war more likely.

“In the last six months alone, since the nuclear deal’s framework was announced in Lausanne, Iran has boosted supplies of devastating weapons to Syria; sent more soldiers into Syria to prop up Assad’s brutal regime; shipped weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen, including another shipment just a few days ago. Hezbollah smuggled in SA-22 missiles to down our planes.”

“Iran smuggled to Hezbollah missiles to accurately hit any target in Israel; aided Hamas and Islamic Jihad with armed drones in Gaza and the West Bank. In the Golan Heights, Iranian operatives recently fired rockets on Israel. Israel will continue to respond forcefully to any attacks to it from Syria, and will block transfer of weapons to Hezbollah through Syria.”

“The days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies… those days are over!” he asserted.

‘Am Yisrael Chai!’

“I know that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons remains the official policy of the international community,” he added. “But no one should question Israel’s determination to defend itself against those who seek our destruction. For in every generation there were those who rose up to destroy our people. Babylonia and Rome; Inquisition and expulsion; in modern times – pogroms and Holocaust. Yet the Jewish people persevered.

“And now another regime has arisen, swearing to destroy Israel. That regime would be wise to consider this: I stand here today representing Israel, a country 67 years young, but the nation state of a people nearly 4,000 years old. Yet the empires of Babylonia and Rome are not represented in this hall of nations. Neither is the “Thousand year Reich.” Those seemingly invincible empires are gone, but the people of Israel lives.”

He thundered: “Am Yisrael Chai!”

“I wish I could take comfort in the claim that this deal blocks Iran’s path to nuclear weapons, but I can’t, because it doesn’t,” Netanyahu continued. “This deal does place several constraints on Iran’s nuclear program, and rightly so. Because the international community recognizes that Iran is so dangerous. But here’s the catch: under the deal, if Iran becomes more dangerous, the most important constraints will still be lifted by year 10 and by year 15. That will place a militant Islamic terror regime weeks away from having enough fissile material for an entire arsenal of bombs. That just doesn’t make any sense.”

“The vast majority of Israelis believe that this nuclear deal with Iran is a very bad deal,” he told the Assembly. “And what makes matters even worse is that we see a world celebrating this bad deal; rushing to embrace and do business with a regime openly comitted to our destruction. Last week, Major General Salehi, Commander of Iran’s army, proclaimed this: ‘We will annihilate Israel for sure, we are glad that we are in the forefront of executing the Supreme Leader’s order to destroy Israel.’

30 seconds of silence

And as for the Supreme Leader himself – a few days after the nuclear deal was announced, he released his latest book. Here it is,” said the Israeli leader, holding up a copy of the orange and yellow book. “It’s a 400 page screed detailing his plan to destroy the state of Israel. Last month, Khamenei once again made his genocidal intentions clear before Iran’s top clerical body, the Assembly of Experts. He spoke about Israel, home to over 6 million Jews. He pledged, ‘There will be no Israel in 25 years.’

An angry Netanyahu intoned: “Seventy years after the murder of 6 million Jews, Iran’s rulers promised to destroy my country, murder my people! And the response from this body; the response from nearly every one of the governments represented here, has been absolutely nothing. Utter silence. Deafening silence.”

At this point, Netanyahu employed a creative oratory device and remained silent for a full 30 seconds.

“The dreams of our people, enshrined for eternity by the great prophets of the Bible – those dreams will be fully realized only when there is peace. As the Middle East descends into chaos, Israel’s peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan are two cornerstones of stability.

“Israel remains committed to achieving peace with the Palestinians as well,” he said. “Israelis know the price of war. I know the price of war. I was nearly killed in battle. I lost many friends. I lost my beloved brother Yoni. Those who know the price of war can best appreciate what the blessings of peace would mean for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren.

Palestinians continue rejectionism

“I am prepared to immediately, immediately, resume direct peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority without any preconditions whatsoever.

Unfortunately, President Abbas said yesterday that he is not prepared to do this. Well, I hope he changes his mind. Because I remain committed to a vision of two states for two peoples in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state.

“The peace process began over two decades ago, yet despite the best efforts of six Israeli prime ministers, Rabin, Peres, Barak, Sharon, Olmert and myself, the Palestinians continually refuse to make a final peace with Israel. You heard that rejectionism yet again only yesterday from President Abbas. How can Israel make peace with a Palestinian partner who refuses to even sit at the negotiating table?”

“The UN won’t help peace by trying to impose solutions or by encouraging Palestinian rejectionism,” he stated. “And the UN should do one more thing: the UN should finally rid itself of the obsessive bashing of Israel. Here’s just one absurd example of this obsession: in four years of horrific violence in Syria, more than a quarter of a million people have lost their lives. That’s more than 10 times the number of Israelis and Palestinians combined who have lost their lives in a century of conflict between us. Yet last year this assembly adopted 20 resolutions against Israel. Count them: twenty! Talk about disproportion.”

‘Decisive rebuttal’

Sources close to Netanyahu had said prior to Wednesday night’s speech that his address was to be a decisive rebuttal to Abbas’s lies, in which the PLO chairman accused Israel of breaking international law and agreements, and announced the PA no longer is committed to the very accords that incidentally created the PA.

Just after Abbas’s “bombshell” UN speech on Wednesday, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag was raised at the UN headquarters for the first time ever.

Ironically, the PLO had its status as an internationally recognized terrorist organization removed in the Oslo Accords – the same Accords that Abbas had just minutes earlier renounced.

Twisted: Arab Countries More Right than Kerry and Europe

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Remember when the United States led the world for a better world and was successful?

As the Kurds were once on the side of the United States in Iraq and as up to 400 veterans went back to the fight in Iraq to stand with the Kurds, matters just got exponentially  worse due to Barack Obama betraying the Kurds.

Syria Kurds ask Russia for arms, coordination

YPG chief Sipan Hemo told Sputnik Türkiye that his fighting force wants Russian assistance.

YPG chief Sipan Hemo told Sputnik Türkiye—which is owned by Moscow—that his fighting force requested arms from Russia as well as general military coordination, according to a translation of the interview prepared by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.

 

“He also called on Moscow to bomb Al-Nusra Front’s positions,” Anadolu added a day after Russia began its airstrikes in Syria on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

 

In turn, the report added that a foreign relations official for the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party—which controls the YPG—said his party was “ready to cooperate with any actor fighting ISIS.”

 

“We are currently receiving support from the US and the [Iraqi Kurdish] Peshmerga,” Idris Naasan added.

 

Syrian Kurds have been rolling back ISIS across large swathes of territory in northern Syria with the assistance of US airstrikes, while also fighting Nusra in the Kurdish-populated Afrin region northwest of Aleppo.

 

The YPG commander’s comments come after a pro-Hezbollah Lebanese daily reported in late September that Russia had set up a coordination process with Kurdish forces and parties in northern Syria.

 

“A Russian military delegate paid a secret visit to a number of Kurdish military commanders in Hasakeh and inspected areas of confrontation between the YPG and the armed groups,” the Al-Akhbar article said.

 

Moscow announced Wednesday that it had begun its air strikes in Syria, insisting it hit “eight ISIS terror group targets,” while rebel groups, the US and France all said Russia had not bombed the extremist group.

 

On Wednesday morning, activists and rebels said that state-of-the-art Russian fighter jets had conducted bombing runs on Lataminah, a town northwest of Hama, as well as a region north of Homs, neither of which are ISIS strongholds.

 

Syrian state TV, for its part, reported that Russian jets hit ISIS targets near Homs’ Rastan and Talbisah—where ISIS does not have a presence—as well as areas near Hama’s Salamiyah, where the group does maintain frontlines with regime troops as well the Nusra Front.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Nine nations or five? In speeches at this year’s U.N. gathering of world leaders, major powers are increasing calls for multilateral negotiations to end the war in Syria. But Europe and the United States are split on who should be at the table.

The Europeans invoke the success of the Iran nuclear talks in arguing for a similar format — with key additions.

Iran negotiated with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany to reach their July 14 agreement. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday called for a similar arrangement “enlarged with regional partners.”

The Americans, in contrast, want a tighter group, without the Europeans.

Fabius did not elaborate on his vision. But two diplomats told The Associated Press that this time, instead of making demands on Iran, as was the case at the nuclear talks, the Europeans want Tehran to work with them, the Americans, Russians and Chinese on finding a peace formula. Saudi Arabia and Turkey also would be included.

The diplomats — one European the other from the Middle East — said that Britain, France and Germany all spoke up in favor of that format on the sidelines of the U.N summit earlier this week during the first meeting of Iran and the six world powers since the nuclear deal was struck.

But the Americans want any negotiations restricted to themselves, the Russians, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Washington accepted being one of six nations at the nuclear negotiations because they came late. After initially refusing to sit at the same table with Tehran the United States joined in 2006, three years after Britain France and Germany reached out to the Islamic Republic.

A U.S. official familiar with the issue said that in the case of Syria, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry preferred to keep the focus on countries that are directly involved.

He and the diplomats demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the dispute.

Russia, in turn, appears to favor others being kept in the loop, even if they aren’t sitting at the negotiating table.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the Security Council on Thursday that Moscow wants “standing channels of communication to ensure a maximally effective fight.” He listed Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, the U.S. and China as nations with a role in Syria talks.

Kerry met Lavrov for a third time on the sidelines of the U.N. summit on Wednesday. On Thursday, he huddled with the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The two told reporters that they swapped ideas about potential options for moving ahead with a political transition in the country and would be examining them in the coming days.

Still, Russia’s launch of airstrikes on Syria on Wednesday appeared to leave serious discussions on who should participate in limbo, with Washington and its allies expressing concern that Moscow might have targeted forces opposed to President Bashar Assad instead of Islamic extremists.

Iran-Saudi rivalries further complicate matters, even if that issue is resolved. The diplomats said that Riyadh is reluctant to sit at any table on the same side as Tehran.

The Saudis want to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, while the Iranians support him. Traditional rivalries have been compounded since last week, with Shiite Iran accusing Sunni Saudi Arabia of gross negligence in the mass deaths of pilgrims in a stampede near Mecca.

Russia Continues to Punk the United States

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Russia’s Foreign Minister:

Lavrov on targets in Syria: “If it looks like a terrorist, if it acts like a terrorist, it is a terrorist”

“We are not planning to expand our airstrikes in Iraq…We are polite people, we don’t come if not invited.”

Russia says first military contact with US over Syria airstrikes will take place “very, very soon.”

Russia, in response, says they are not planning air strikes in Iraq, according to Lavrov.

Assad allies, Iranian troops prepare ground attack in Syria
WashingtonTimes:  Iran has sent hundreds of troops to Syria over the last 10 days that will soon join government forces and Hezbollah allies in a major ground offensive accompanied by Russian airstrikes, two Lebanese sources familiar with the matter said.

“The (Russian) airstrikes will in the near future be accompanied by ground advances by the Syrian army and its allies,” one of the sources told Reuters.
The sources said it is possible the ground operations will be focused in the Idlib and Hama countryside regions and that operations would be aimed at recapturing territory lost by embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government to rebels.
If true, the operations point to an emerging military alliance between Russia and Mr. Assad’s other main allies — Iran and Hezbollah.

So far, Iranian military support for Mr. Assad’s regime has mostly come in the form of military advisers and the mobilization of Shi’ite militia fighters.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has been fighting alongside the Syrian army since early in the conflict.

“The vanguard of Iranian ground forces began arriving in Syria: soldiers and officers specifically to participate in this battle. They are not advisors … we mean hundreds with equipment and weapons. They will be followed by more,” the second source told Reuters. Iraqis would also take part in the operation, the source said.

The Russian air force on Wednesday began airstrikes, targeting areas near the cities of Homs and Hamas in the western region of Syria. Moscow had claimed it would conduct strikes against the Islamic State militant group, but the terrorist organization does not operate in the bombed region, anti-Assad forces do.
The move drew harsh criticism from the U.S. and other western powers, with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter likening Russia’s move to “pouring gasoline on the fire” in Syria.

State John Kerry calling for swift military talks to coordinate efforts.

Tensions rising, US and Russian military holding Syria talks

The Pentagon says it’s beginning talks with the Russian military on ways to avoid US and Russian forces firing on each other in Syria.

Thursday’s talks — being held by video teleconference — come a day after Russian fighter jets began bombing in western Syria and with US-Russian tensions growing.

Conducting the talks on the US side are Elissa Slotkin, the acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and Vice Adm. Frank C. Pandolfe, the director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It’s not immediately clear who will be speaking for the Russians.