Israel PM in Russia Next Week for Syria Talks With Vladimir Putin

Asked Wednesday if Russia plans to create a base in Syria, Gen. Nikolai Bogdanovsky, a deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian military, said, according to Russian news agencies, that “there are no such plans as of today, but anything may happen”.

“As for other countries, we have no veto on any country provided that it has the will to fight terrorism and not as they are doing in what is called “the international coalition” led by the United States“, he said. “So we, as political forces, whether inside or outside the government, should unite around what the Syrian people want”, said the president.

Russia’s recent military buildup in Syria has perplexed the Obama administration and left it in a quandary as to how to respond, complicating Washington’s efforts to both combat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) extremists and assist moderate rebels trying to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“The secretary stressed that there is no military solution to the overall conflict in Syria, which can only be resolved by a political transition away from Mr. Assad”.

Assad directed his harshest words for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for “Turkish logistical support” to Islamist groups using Turkey as a springboard for “jihad” in Syria. Assad made no reference to the extreme violence his forces have used on civilian areas during the country’s civil war, now in its fifth year, repeating only that some mistakes have been made.

Israel on Wednesday joined an international chorus of concern over Russia’s military involvement in Syria, announcing that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu would meet president Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week to discuss the issue.

The U.S.-led coalition had not been able to prevent the spread of Islamic state militants so far, he noted.

But Syria’s UN envoy questioned why Russians should be forbidden from taking part in air strikes against IS jihadists.

He cited what he described as a failure to enforce a controlled immigration system, forcing refugees to set out across perilous seas.

Meanwhile, Assad chided Western nations over the escalating refugee crisis in Europe, claiming that the West has been supporting “terrorists” since the beginning of the crisis and is now “crying” over refugees.

“How can one be indignant about a drowned child and remain silent about the death of thousands of children, elderly people, women and men killed by terrorists in Syria?”

“If you are worried about them, stop supporting terrorists”, he said in an interview with Russian media on Wednesday.