France’s Sarkozy meets Putin, says West too tough on Russia

Military operations in Syria are being conducted with a mix of older aircraft, but Russian commanders also are learning valuable lessons about the reliability and capabilities of such new generation aircraft as the four SU-34 Fullback fighter bomber aircraft reportedly deployed there. Russian Federation is forming Mediterranean squadron of warships again (for the first time since the breakup of the USSR), therefore the port of Tartus is strategically very important. Instead of attempting to impose a new Syrian leadership, the U.S. should host a meeting with internally selected representatives to help them draft a constitution and make other political arrangements.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces battling against the so-called moderate opposition and various extremist groups, including the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group. They drew on disaffected members of the former regime and supporters of the al-Qaida faction. Blair felt the decision to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was a correct one, although he apologized “for a few of the mistakes in planning and, certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime”.

Referring to an incident in June 2014, in which the Israel Air Force’s air defense department shot down a Syrian Sukhoi 24 jet that breached Israeli air space with a Patriot missile, Assel said the shoot-down is “an example of the sensitivity that these things can cause”. But airstrikes are not a strategy, just a stopgap measure.

“This project, which grew out of the “Arab Spring, ‘ has gained momentum thanks to the double standards of certain world regional powers by using ‘a terrorist battering ram” to reach their own strategic goals in Asia and Africa”.

Following the successful raids, Russian army spokesman Andrei Kartapolov vowed to further increase the pressure on the enemy, saying: “We will not only continue strikes…” So it has to be a few kind of diplomatic deal, and the signs are emerging of what Russian Federation has in mind. “Russian Federation will be seen as being in league with Assad, Hezbollah, Iran, alienating millions of Sunnis in Syria, the region and indeed in Russian Federation itself”, Blinken said at an security conference in Manama.

He also noted that it was necessary to support the Syrian opposition, because “it was a potential force for combating terrorism”.

Now that the Russians have stopped the rebel advance, a ceasefire becomes theoretically possible.

“There are two worldwide coalitions operating in Syria simultaneously”. The move marks a significant departure for President Barack Obama, who for years has resisted putting ground forces in Syria even as he has gradually intensified the USA military response to what counterterrorism officials worry is a growing Islamic State threat in Syria and Iraq. The Nusra Front would rule over the northwest with its allies, and impose a somewhat less extreme form of Islamist rule there.