Russia Is Not Counted As Syria’s Friend in the West

The forces opposing the Assad regime have decided to bypass the U.N.

As announced by Interfax yesterday with reference to the Israeli media, Qatari and British special forces were sent to Syria. The troops are stationed near Homs; they are not taking part in military operations, but are serving as advisers to the Syrian rebels. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is preparing a military scenario in case the diplomatic efforts of the U.S. and its allies fail.

The U.S. Department of Defense has been hatching plans to participate in the Syrian conflict for a few weeks. The talk is not only about helping with refugees and medical care for the population, but also about a direct military intervention with support from its NATO allies. Besides, according to The (British) Times, the U.S. and its allies are exploring the possibility of supplying arms to the Syrian rebels.

Before that, the Obama Administration was saying that they were not considering military intervention in the Syrian conflict or arming the rebels who oppose Bashar Assad’s regime. Last weekend, Obama ruled out repeating the Libyan scenario in Syria.

In Washington, the situation was explained in the following way: On the one hand, these measures are coming from the U.S. Department of Defense, which should be ready to inform the president about existing possibilities if needed. At the same time, priority is given to diplomatic measures, such as sanctions, for example, said the Pentagon’s spokesman, Marine Corps Major Chris Perrine, and other officials.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic pressure on Syria is growing not only from the U.S., which closed its embassy in Damascus on Monday, but also from other countries. Five European and six Arab states recalled their ambassadors, and Germany refused to send another ambassador to replace the one who left earlier this month. A high-ranking official in Brussels announced on Wednesday that the E.U. will toughen its sanctions against Syria very soon.

After the veto that was imposed by Russia and China on the Moroccan resolution in the U.N. Security Council, the U.S., France, U.K. and Arab countries are trying to establish a contact group to cooperate with the Syrian opposition. However, the U.S. does not see Russia and China in this group. “[We] are talking about friends of a democratic Syria in support of the Arab League plan, the exact plan that was on the table in New York, which Russia and China chose to veto,” said the official spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Victoria Nuland.

“Denial of friendship,” though, does not mean that the West has stopped its attempts to influence the Russian position. On Wednesday, Dmitry Medvedev had a phone conversation on the situation in Syria with the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, on his initiative. The U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, expressed the desire to discuss with Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, the results of his trip. As a reminder, Lavrov visited Damascus on Tuesday with the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Mikhail Fradkov.

On the same day as Sarkozy, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also called Medvedev regarding the Syrian question. The head of Turkish Foreign Ministry, Ahmet Davutoglu, went to Washington on Wednesday to meet his colleague Clinton. The chief of Turkish diplomacy announced that Ankara intends to call for an international conference on Syria as soon as possible. The Arab countries have activated again. The U.N.’s secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said that the Arab League is going to renew its mission in Syria.

As a reminder, the observers left the country because of the increased violence there. “There are three main forces opposing Assad: the Western states, the Arab League and Turkey,”* said the chief scientific officer of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Georgy Mirsky. Sarkozy initiated the group “Friends of Syria” after Russia and China vetoed the Security Council resolution. It looks like these powers have decided to bypass the U.N., meaning to help the Syrian rebels in indirect ways.

The former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev has commented on the events in Syria, saying “This is a unique situation, and we need to be responsible and cautious. Those who have itching hands should go wash them and cool down.”

Isn’t it a precaution to the “Friends of Syria”?

*Editor’s note: This quote, while translated correctly, was unable to verified in English.