WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia has started flying surveillance missions with drone aircraft in Syria, two U.S. officials said on Monday, in what appeared to be Moscow’s first military air operations in Syria since staging a rapid buildup at an airfield there.
The U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, could not say how many drone aircraft were involved in the surveillance missions. The Pentagon declined to comment.
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NYPost: After weeks of dancing around the issue, the Obama administration has expressed concern about “heightened military activity” by Russia in Syria.
But what if we are facing something more than “heightened military activity?” What if Moscow is preparing to give Syria the full Putin treatment?
For years, Russia has been helping Syrian despot Bashar al-Assad cling to a diminishing power structure in a shrinking territorial base without trying to impose an overall strategy.
Now, however, there are signs that Russia isn’t content to just support Assad. It wants to control Syria.
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The Foreign Ministry said on September 21 that the mortar attack was launched in the morning of September 20 by forces battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
It said the shelling did not cause damage.
The militants have “outside sponsors” who are responsible for influencing their actions, the ministry said.
“We are expecting a clear-cut position on this act of terror from all members of the international community,” it added. “What is needed is not just words but concrete action too.”
The statement comes amid Western concerns over Russia’s military buildup in Syria.
Moscow says its aim is to help Syria, a longtime ally, fight the Islamic State extremist group.
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The submarine, the USS Wyoming, arrived at the British naval base at Faslane, Scotland, Wednesday morning for what the U.S. Strategic Command said is a routine visit.
However, ballistic missile submarine movements and port visits normally are not announced by the Navy or the Strategic Command, an indication the Wyoming’s port call is intended as strategic messaging to Moscow.
The submarine visit “demonstrates the closeness of the U.S./U.K. defense relationship and our commitment to the collective security of all NATO member states,” Stratcom said in a brief statement.
The submarine deployment followed an earlier unannounced visit by a British missile submarine to Kings Bay, Ga., the homeport of the Wyoming.
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Russia and Iran have stepped up coordination inside Syria as they move to safeguard President Bashar al-Assad’s control over his coastal stronghold, according to officials in the U.S. and Middle East, creating a new complication for Washington’s diplomatic goals.
Senior Russian and Iranian diplomats, generals and strategists have held a string of high-level talks in Moscow in recent months to discuss Mr. Assad’s defense and the Kremlin’s military buildup in Syria, according to these officials.
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The Russian president announced today he has agreed a Government proposal to sign a deal for the military airbase and ordered defence and foreign ministry officials to start talks with Belarus – although the plan is not expected to face major obstacles.
His announcement comes at a time of tension with the West over Russian involvement in Ukraine and Syria and may also signal the Kremlin’s interest in keeping unpredictable Belarus within its geopolitical orbit.
The idea for an airbase in the ex-Soviet republic was revealed by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in 2013 and follows a 2009 agreement where Russia and Belarus agreed to defend their common external frontier and airspace.
Russian defence officials said the base would be used to station Su-27 fighters.
Russia already has some fighter aircraft in Belarus but this would be the first full-scale base in the country since Soviet times.
The world’s biggest country has scaled back its military presence abroad, closing bases in distant Cold War allies such as Cuba and Vietnam.
However, a naval base at Tartus in war-torn Syria has recently become the focus of world attention as Russia has boosted its troop presence there in a move seen as bolstering its diplomatic influence in the region.
In summary from 2014 and later Congressional testimony:
Pentagon Fears It’s Not Ready for a War With Putin
Among the challenges the exercises revealed were that the number of precision-guided munitions available across the force were short of the war plans and it would be difficult to sustain a large troop presence. Full article here.
March 2015: WASHINGTON —The nominee to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that Russia poses the greatest national security threat to the United States and that it would be a “reasonable” military decision to supply lethal arms to Ukrainians fighting against rebels backed by Moscow.
“Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security. … If you look at their behavior, it’s nothing short of alarming,” Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee
Relations between Russia and the West have sunk to post-Cold War lows after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its support for a pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The United States has responded with sanctions but so far has refrained from providing lethal arms to the Ukrainian forces.
Asked if the U.S. should provide lethal arms to Ukraine, Dunford said that from a military standpoint, it would be a “reasonable” response.
“Frankly, without that kind of support, they are not going to be able to defend themselves against Russian aggression,” Dunford said.
That comment was welcomed by Sen. John McCain, chairman of the chairman.
“In Europe, Vladimir Putin’s Russia continues its onslaught in Ukraine,” said McCain, R-Ariz. “But even as Russian troops and equipment execute this neo-imperial campaign to undermine Ukraine’s government and independence, the United States has refused Ukraine the weapons it needs and deserves for its defense.” More detail here.
