Riyadh proposed sending ground troops to Syria

Moallem also said that Syria will resist any ground incursion into its territory and send the aggressors home “in coffins”, in comments clearly aimed at Sunni Arab countries that have said they were ready to join such an operation.

Russia’s defence Ministry meanwhile said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect that Turkey, another opposition ally, is making intensive preparations for a military invasion of Syria.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Saudi announcement on Thursday was a response to US Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s plea for coalition partners to step up contributions to the fight against Daesh.

Rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad have received supplies via both Turkey and Jordan.

 Saudi Arabia is now also involved in the war in Yemen, where a coalition led by the conservative kingdom is battling Houthi rebels, also known as Ansarullah, and their allies, which include former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, still a pivotal power player in the country. Western countries are particularly anxious about IS’ growth in Libya and are weighing up a military intervention.

“Although Riyadh states about the intention to fight against the Islamic State terrorist organization, there are big doubts about that”, said Vladimir Akhmetov, senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, reported the Russian Tass News Agency.

However, Al-Moallem made his feelings about any potential ground troops perfectly clear, stating that any attacks carried out without the consent of the Syrian government would be considered an act of aggression.

“After Daesh and al-Nusra Front suffered defeat in Iraq’s Ramadi and Syria’s Aleppo in particular, Saudi Arabia and the United States chose to deploy Saudi soldiers to Syria to save the remaining Takfiris and clash with the Syrian army”, Rezaei stated. Much of Saudi Arabia’s military has been deployed in Yemen, but as the kingdom achieves some of its goals there more of its military has been freed up for the Syrian conflict. Additionally the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has been fighting on the ground in Syria for over two years now.

On the other hand, the entrance of foreign ground troops could reinvigorate diplomatic efforts to find a political resolution.