The head of the Russian Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee says Russian armed forces based in Syria will not attempt to intercept any American missiles, if Washington orders another airstrike.
On Monday, Russian Senator Viktor Ozerov told the news agency Interfax, “Our armed forces are in Syria to fight terrorism — not to defend against external threats. That’s not our mandate, and we’re not going to intercept anything,” he said, adding that the Syrian military still has every legal right to try to shoot down the missiles.
There is obviously a lot of behind-the-scenes diplomatic activity happening between Russia and the Trump administration regarding Syria. Perhaps there are public responses and those real politick responses given over secure communications between the two governments. Russia has been very belligerent in the public eye since the airstrikes by the U.S. against the Syrian target last week due to chemical weapons use against civilians. However, the current Russian declaration is interesting to say the least.
The Moscow Times reports the head of the Russian Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee says Russian armed forces based in Syria will not attempt to intercept any American missiles, if Washington orders another airstrike. On Monday, Russian Senator Viktor Ozerov told the news agency Interfax, “Our armed forces are in Syria to fight terrorism — not to defend against external threats. That’s not our mandate, and we’re not going to intercept anything,” he said, adding that the Syrian military still has every legal right to try to shoot down the missiles.
Perhaps Trump and Putin have come to some kind of agreement, a way to move forward in Syria. The conflict is causing pain for all sides. The fact that Trump launched missiles at an airfield in Syria where Russian troops were stationed have obviously awakened Moscow to Trump’s seriousness and unpredictability. Perhaps that realization is what it will take for all sides to find a brokered solution to this bloody and costly conflict.
The geopolitical chess board in the Middle East has changed radically, in ways no one expected a few days ago. Positions are being recalibrated. Opinions on the United States, long taken for granted over the last decade are no longer valid. The next few weeks will tell if Russia and the U.S. can come to some agreement on Assad and if the two nations can actually start working together to destroy what remains of the Islamic State. Recent terror attacks in Moscow make that prospect all the more relevant.
