Assad blames U.S. coalition for expansion of Daesh

Leaving aside the recent meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, during which both sides agreed that they should not engage in any kind of military confrontation against each other in Syria, the only solution in my view is to create internationally recognized safe zones in the country.

Few are holding their breath. Consequently, destroying terrorism is the foundation of any action in Syria.

Clinton had backed a more aggressive U.S. intervention in the initial stages of the Syrian civil war, in 2011-12, but was overruled by Obama at the time.

The conflict has taken a deadly trajectory throughout.

“The Americans have informed us during contacts that there was no one except terrorists in this region”, Lt. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov told reporters.

The end for the Assad family, he argues, is its survival.

British bombing as part of the coalition so far has only targeted Islamic State in Iraq.

Assad said that the Russian campaign had the potential to succeed because it is supported by Iran and has global, if not Western, support.

“Sometime between the formation of this council and elections [as per the 2012 Geneva agreement outlining a political transition in Syria], the theory of this is that – whether it’s a day or a week or a month, I don’t know – Assad would sail into the sunset, Jubeir said“. Well that happened. Will it take millions of people on the move? Neither tactic has been successful in subjugating the Middle East to American imperialism, while inflicting horrific destruction, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands and creating tens of millions of refugees. “It is a free field for Putin and the Russians”.

“This is sheer opportunism”, said a veteran former United Nations official with long experience as an envoy in the region.

Russia’s raids have triggered discussions in the Pentagon about whether America should use military force to protect US-trained and equipped rebels if they are bombed by Moscow. Less than 48 hours after the two leaders shared a tense handshake in New York, Russian Federation began what White House spokesman Josh Earnest called “indiscriminate” air attacks in the country. “And he’s entitled to his opinion”, the Arizona Republican said Sunday in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union”.

“They don’t have the financial power,” he said.

The Assad government, Syria watchers say, has been lucky with its enemies as well as its allies.

To frame and illustrate Putin’s success in Syria, state television stations provided a series of seemingly scripted news broadcasts over the weekend. USA officials may protest, but they are “de-conflicting” military operations with the Russians, which many Syrians translate as cooperation.

He said the Russian intervention is open-ended, and was planned in cooperation with the Syrian military.

“What will Putin do then?” asked Naoum. But the same may prove true of Putin himself.