Faisal Mikdad, deputy head of the Syrian Foreign Ministry, demanded that U.S.A so that they immediately withdraw their troops from the territory of the Arab Republic. The diplomat warned that otherwise the SAR government would view the American forces operating in the country as hostile troops. According to the deputy head of the Syrian Foreign Ministry, the so-called US-led anti-terrorist coalition is not so much fighting terrorists Islamic State 1(activity is prohibited in the Russian Federation), how much it destroys the infrastructure of the republic and kills civilians.
Thus, the actions of the Western alliance do not at all meet the interests of ordinary residents of the SAR. In addition, the American troops have no legal basis to be on the territory of the republic, Mikdad recalled. The US military and its allies entered Syria and launched a massive military campaign there without an official invitation from Damascus or the sanction of the UN Security Council.
At the moment, Washington has three military bases in the SAR: two in the province controlled by the Kurds. Hasaka and one more - near the settlement Kobani in the northwest of Aleppo at the very Turkish border. At the same time, American forces are supporting the Kurdish To the democratic forces of Syria(SDF) and People's self-defense detachments(YPG), which continue the operation to capture Raqqa and in parallel prepare for an offensive in the province of Deir ez-Zor.
Is there a chance that the United States, if it does not wind down its campaign in the SAR, will at least somehow adequately respond to the statement of the Syrian diplomat? Editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, member of the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Korotchenko noted in conversation with Federal News Agency(FAN) that the United States will not take any action in connection with this requirement of official Damascus. Moreover, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the SAR probably understand this themselves and, accordingly, hardly expect any intelligible answer from Washington.
“The United States will not react in any way to this statement. The Syrians themselves probably understand that this is a purely political statement. In military terms, we have already had several episodes when, when Syrian government forces or pro-government paramilitary formations approached the location of American special forces groups, the coalition aviation attacked the columns of the SAR army and allies in order to prevent their possible fire and combat contact with the US military. "
Such behavior of the American forces, which bomb the objects of the army of the country on whose territory they themselves are illegally located, suggests that oral demands are practically useless and can hardly lead to the desired result. The expert is sure that the United States still does not intend to leave the territory of the Arab republic.
“In any case, American special forces will continue to operate in Syria in the near future. Of course, this is illegal from the point of view of international law, but the United States did not care about the laws. It is obvious that until the situation in the SAR is completely stabilized, other incidents related to the US military presence will occur. "
Recently, for example, there have been more and more reports that Kurdish forces are advancing on the Deir ez-Zor province under the auspices of the United States. If so, US-backed SDF and YPG fighters may interfere with the operation. Syrian Arab Army(CAA) and the Russian Aerospace Forces to liberate the capital of the region from the occupation of the "Islamic State". Then new armed clashes between Kurdish fighters and government soldiers and new civilian casualties at the hands of the Americans are not excluded. However, the Russian side, Igor Korotchenko emphasizes, will undoubtedly make every effort to prevent such incidents from happening.
"I think that the Russian military command, when planning an operation against ISIS 1 in Deir ez-Zor, will do everything to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible and without any complications."
1 The organization is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.
"Homeland of cops and terrorists". Moscow waiting for the fighters released by Kiev "Berkut" Russia took "her". Whom did Ukraine see? List of criminals. This is more than a company of trained assassins, saboteurs, terrorists. The message of journalist Yuri Butusov in the original. Spelling and syntax are preserved: “Russia took“ its own ”: whom did Ukraine give out for exchange? According to the list of those demanded by the Russian Federation, it becomes absolutely clear who is behind all these terrible acts of terrorism and crimes. This is what Russia has assumed responsibility for. Agent of the Russian special services, professional killer: - Artur Denisultanov. Wounded during an attempted assassination attempt on Adam Osmayev and Amina Okueva in Kiev on June 1, 2017. Thanks to Amina's reaction, that time she managed to save Adam and herself. Denisultanov took part in the murder in Vienna of Umar Israilov, who fled from Chechnya. Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities refused to put him up for exchange, since Denisultanov knows a lot about Russian terrorism, including in Europe. Sergey Zinchenko - Pavel Abroskin - Sergey Tamtura - Alexander Marinchenko - Oleg Yanishevsky. Deputy commander of the Kiev regiment "Berkut" - accused of transferring the order to use weapons in the morning of February 20 to the commander of the assault company, Major Sadovnik. Member of the ATO. ___________________________________ The terrorists who blew up the demonstration on February 22, 2015 in Kharkov near the Sports Palace, and killed 4 people (including 15-year-old Daniil Didyk, 18-year-old Nikolai Melnichuk, Maidan activist Igor Tolmachev and policeman Vadim Rybalchenko): - Tetyutskiy Viktor - Bashlykov Sergei - Dvornikov Vladimir All three participants of the Anti-Maidan in Kiev, participants in the clashes on February 18, 2014 in the area of the Mariinsky Park. They met in a hospital in Kharkov, made contact with the Russian special services, detonated a MON-100 fragmentation mine, the number of victims, by a happy coincidence, turned out to be much less than the killers had planned. Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities refused to expose these child-killers for exchange. _____________________________________________ Terrorists of the Mongoose group, who on the morning of May 9, 2014 stormed the city police department and staged a massacre (as a result, 6 Ukrainian militiamen, volunteers, national guardsmen, 3 civilians were killed, 4 terrorists were killed in the battle): - Druzhinin Evgeniy , born 1975, resident of Mariupol, call sign "Fox". - Alexander Stelnikovich, born in 1992, resident of Mariupol, call sign "Grek". - Viktor Skripnik, born 1987, callsign "Tarkom". _______________________________________________ Terrorist who blew up a soldier with a mine in a honey jar: - Ruban Nikolay, born in 1951 In January 2015, he handed over a mine disguised as a can of honey to a soldier of the 17th Tank Brigade, Alexander Susloparov. The soldier was killed in the explosion, leaving one wife and five children. Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities refused to exchange Ruban. _________________________________________________ Criminal, hired killer: - Misyak Maxim, born in 1987. from Kharkov. Shot in Kharkov businessman Yaroslav Bysaga on August 1, 2013, and then on March 9, 2014, he shot two entrepreneurs - Yevgeny Slonevsky and Oleg Litvinov. The reasons were extortion and racketeering of the bandit group of Yevgeny Zhilin, there were no political motives. It is very eloquent that Russia is demanding the extradition of an ordinary killer. Surely this was lobbied in Moscow by the Russian mafia. _______________________________________________ Traitor of the group of the 3rd special forces regiment, brought the enemy to the group of Lieutenant Colonel Lysenko in the village of Latyshevo on July 29, 2014, 9 special forces were killed, one was shot in captivity, 5 were taken prisoner: - Butrimenko Nikolay, born in 1955. In 2014, he was a deputy of the Miner's District Council from the Party of Regions, the head of the agricultural enterprise of Imeni Chelyuskintsev LLC. In June 2016, he was arrested during a trip to Mariupol for a pension. _____________________________________________ Mercenaries who fought against Ukraine as part of the Russian occupation forces: - Doronin Oleg, born in 1991 from Nizhnevartovsk, citizen of the Russian Federation. He was tried for a criminal offense in the Russian Federation. I tried to enlist in the Russian army, but the employees of the Khanty-Mansiysk military registration and enlistment office explained that they conclude a contract with a criminal record only after serving in the occupation forces in Donbass. Scout of the 1st Cossack regiment of the 2nd corps of the RF Armed Forces. On July 3, 2015, he was captured by soldiers of the 54th mechanized brigade near Popasna. - Rafael Lusvargi, born 1984 From Sao Paulo, Brazil. The adventurer, a former fighter of the French Foreign Legion, could not continue to serve until the end of the contract. He fought with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) against the legitimate government. In September 2014, he came to Donbass through Moscow, was the commander of the Viking group, formed from foreigners, as part of the 1st brigade of the 1st corps of the RF Armed Forces, in April 2015 he was wounded during the battles for the Donetsk airport. In the course of a joint operation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the SBU was invited to Ukraine to engage in the security business, and was detained. - Vyacheslav Biryukov, born in 1990, call sign "Syava", a mercenary of the "Vostok" battalion, captured during the liberation of Mariupol in June 14th. - Igor Udovenko, born in 1963 _________________________________________________ One of the organizers of the tragedy in Odessa on May 2, 2014, which provoked clashes and the death of 48 people: - Sergey Dolzhenkov, born in 1988 Nicknamed "Captain Cocoa". In 2009-2012 - an operative of the Odessa city police department, the son of the General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Alexander Dolzhenkov, rector of the Institute of Internal Affairs. He resigned from the police after a scandal - in his office during working hours, Sergei Dolzhenkov was found having sex with a minor girl. Antimaydan activist became one of the leaders of the Odessa Druzhina gang and the organizers of the clashes on May 2, 2014. He was arrested, but refused exchanges in 2014 and in 2017, believing that he would get an acquittal. He was released from custody on August 19, 2019. ___________________________________ Terrorists, members of the Communist Party, who staged a series of explosions in Odessa in volunteer centers and the office of the "Right Sector": - Alexander Shevtsov, born in 1960. - Evgeny Podmazko, born 1969 - Ekaterina Fotieva, born 1979 ____________________________________ Organizer of the explosion at the SBU building in Odessa in September 2015: Vladimir Grubnik, born in 1983. Surgeon at the Odessa City Clinical Hospital №11. ______________________________________________ Terrorists who blew up a train on the railway near Odessa in April 2015 as part of the "Odessa Underground": Ruslan Dolgosheya, born 1973 since 2009, the chief of staff of the Troops of the Loyal Cossacks of the Black Sea named after B. Khmelnitsky, an active participant in the Anti-Maidan and anti-Ukrainian camp on the Kulikovo field. Dolgosheya Vladislav 1996 year of birth Ruslan's son. Mazur Oleg born in 1965 Selyatenko Nikolay 1967 Nikolay Kazansky born in 1967 Swede Vadim born in 1967 ____________________________________________ Organizer of the terrorist group in Kharkov: Igor Dzhadan, born in 1964 Physician-therapist, organizer of a number of terrorist attacks in Kharkov in 2014. He kept a whole arsenal of weapons in a cache. _________________________________________________ Russian tanker, taken in battle at an altitude of 307.5 near Debaltseve: Ruslan Gadzhiev. Russian unemployed, recruited by the special services of the Russian Federation for the war in Ukraine. The mechanic-driver of the tank of the August 25th battalion of the Russian Armed Forces Corps, which attacked the Valera stronghold on January 25, 2015. In the battle, 7 brave Ukrainian soldiers died, 3 Russian tanks and 8 mercenaries were destroyed, Hajiyev was taken prisoner. "_____________________________________________________ Citizen of Russia Larisa Chubarova, the positive" Tereza ". "Wolf in sheep's clothing". That is how those Ukrainian military called her, they visited the dungeons of the "DPR" group. According to them, she not only tortured the prisoners, but also personally shot them. The court of first instance gave Teresa 11 years. She was found guilty of participation in armed formations not provided for by law, illegal handling of weapons, encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. etc. etc.
American soldiers and instructors leave Syria
Initially, information about the withdrawal of the military was reported by sources in the American administration, then the White House officially announced this. Its representative, Sarah Sanders, said that the withdrawal of troops and State Department employees is associated with the defeat of the "territorial caliphate" of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) and the transition of the operation against the militants "into a new phase."
At the same time, the decision does not mean that the activities of the international coalition led by the United States, as well as its campaign, will end. Sanders noted that Washington and its allies will continue to be ready to return if necessary and defend American interests. “We will continue to work together to deprive radical Islamic terrorists of territory, funding, support,” she added.
Details of the operation are not disclosed for the sake of safety
It is not entirely clear from Sanders' statement whether all the American military, of whom there are now about 2,000 in Syria, will leave its territory. Also, it is not indicated in what time frame it will be done.
As the US Department of Defense spokeswoman Dana White explained, the withdrawal of troops has already begun, but details will not be disclosed "in the interests of protecting the forces and in the interests of the safety of operations," reports. She also noted that Washington will continue to work with allies to defeat IS wherever the group operates.
At the same time, sources said that a complete withdrawal of troops would take 60 to 100 days. In this case, all employees of the State Department will be sent home within 24 hours.
Trump announced victory over IS
The President of the United States wrote about the fulfillment of the country's tasks in Syria on his page in Twitter... “We defeated IS in Syria, the only reason we were there during my presidency,” he said.
The defeat and destruction of the group was one of Trump's campaign promises. Earlier in December, the American leader said that the militants of the group would be driven out of their territories within a month. He spoke of the imminent departure of the American military from Syria back in April, but later the head of the Pentagon, James Mattis, said that the troops would not leave the country until the situation in the region became stable.
Russia and Iran will benefit from this decision
They, along with Turkey, will remain the only influential forces in the region - this will make it possible to cleanse the country's territory from all groups disloyal to Assad, who may be offered to either go to the Turkish-controlled zone, or die in battle. With Moscow's support, Damascus can restore almost complete control over the country's territory - except for the territories bordering with Turkey, which are controlled by Ankara and its Sunni rebel groups loyal to it.
US allies in Syria called the incident a betrayal
The New York Times reports that the Americans warned the Kurds about their decision on the morning of December 19. After that, the fighters of the "Democratic Forces of Syria" - an alliance of Kurdish and Arab groups supported by the United States - called Washington's decision a betrayal and a stab in the back, according to Sky News Arabia.
Not everyone in Washington supports the withdrawal
The American senators Lindsay Graham and Marco Rubio have already expressed their dissatisfaction. They believe that the decision will be a fatal mistake both for the United States and for the region and the whole world, and its consequences will affect not only the fight against the "Islamic State". “This would be a great victory for IS, Iran, [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad and Russia,” Graham said. He added that the withdrawal of troops would show Washington's weakness.
According to The New York Times, in recent days, during meetings and telephone conversations, US Department of Defense officials tried to dissuade Trump from making such a decision. They pointed out that the withdrawal of troops would lead to a major shift in national security policy, and the United States would, in effect, cede Russia and Iran in Syria. They also noted that IS is still holding territory on the border with Iraq. In addition, the Pentagon believes that Washington's departure actually means that it is abandoning its Kurdish allies, whom it traditionally supported.
Turkey influenced the US decision
To the message of Donald Trump that he ordered his troops to leave Syria, I confess, at first I was skeptical. I managed to get used to the fact that the US president can change his mind literally within a few hours. However, it soon became clear that this time his team, often correcting their leader, was not opposed to leaving the Middle East.
In his video message Donald Trump announced that the Americans had won the victory over the Islamic State terrorist group, so they had nothing else to do in the Middle East: “We fought in Syria for a long time. I have been president for almost two years now, and we have really raised the level of fighting, and we have defeated IS. We beat them, beat them very hard, took back the territory, and it was time for our troops to return home. ”
We do not care about fables, thanks to which the leader of the United States strengthens the morale of the nation - these are their internal American affairs. It is much more interesting to understand what actually happened, why the Americans made the decision to urgently evacuate their people: the State Department employees will leave Syria within 24 hours, and the military within two months.
I have a version.
Realizing that it will not be possible to completely redraw the map of the Middle East, as was planned ten years ago, the Americans decided to moderate their ardor and strengthen their positions at least in key states - Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as restore influence in Turkey. Moreover, Turkey at this stage is the main goal, since relations with it have fundamentally gone wrong.
In order to return to the stall a loose NATO member who buys the S-400 from Russia, has large joint energy projects with it (Akkuyu NPP and Turkish Stream) and generally entered into allied relations with a geopolitical competitor (Astana format) , two irritants need to be removed: hand over Fethullah Gulen and stop interacting with the Kurds.
The United States, as we know, is already trying with might and main to find an excuse to extradite the preacher, as I have already mentioned. And, most likely, they have already groped for an option - he is about to be accused of tax crimes.
And now it’s the turn of the Kurds, who seem to be abandoned to their fate. On Friday, between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Donald Trump, phone conversation, during which, apparently, the good news was reported to the Turk. And today Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke on the phone. "The parties discussed the decision of the US administration to withdraw American troops from Syria," Anadolu news agency reported.
This is the same respectful American attention that the Turks have been deprived of for many years.
However, as long as the hostile and distrustful rhetoric of the Turks towards the Americans persists, it is enough to read the list of claims under the heading "The United States through YPG / PKK strengthened its presence in Syria", which appeared just yesterday. However, if Washington does indeed change its policy and heed Ankara's concerns, anti-American sentiment in Turkey is likely to subside. After all, this is a matter of technology, it is enough to direct the propaganda in the local media in the right direction.
But this requires the closure of 15 American bases located east of the Euphrates and no longer arming the terrorists. According to Turkish data, today the Syrian Kurdish People's Self-Defense Forces (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel, YPG), with US support, control a quarter of Syria and three-quarters of its oil and gas fields. The question is whether the Americans are ready to give up such important acquisitions.
If you are ready, then Erdogan, I believe, is not at all averse to becoming the main American partner in the region again. Moreover, Washington is demonstratively changing its policy towards Ankara; recently, the State Department even approved the sale of Patriot missile defense systems to Turkey. Such a step, you see, is fundamentally different from the collapse of the national currency or threats to impose sanctions in the event of the purchase of the S-400 from us.
I never expected that the rapprochement between Ankara and Moscow would last forever. It is too important a country for the Americans and a military ally to be put into our arms. For example, without the active participation of this influential Black Sea power, it is hardly possible to greatly prevent us from putting things in order in Ukraine.
Therefore, let us fix it: today Turkey began to drift towards the West.
____________________
Due to Russia's intervention in the Syrian conflict, the United States failed to achieve the goals it set for itself in the Middle East. As a result, the reputation of the hegemon was dealt a crushing blow.
Please note that it was not only Turkey, Iraq and Syria that had to be cut off. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan were also to lose territory. Kurdistan was supposed to get access to the Black Sea.
Still, Americans love to draw new borders of foreign states - to divide and rule. But it doesn't always work out.
Photo: ErikaWittlieb / pixabayYesterday, many media outlets posted the sensational news on their editorials: "The Americans remain in Syria to continue to resist Assad" ...
However, in their materials, the journalists refer not to the statements of officials, but to the publication in the popular overseas edition of the Washington Post, signed by Karen de Jong, a well-known correspondent in narrow circles.
The latter, in turn, presented to the public an analytical article in which high-ranking American officials were mentioned, quotes from the US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the Trump administration's UN representative Nikiya Haley and Congressman McCain. Nevertheless, the main source who shared all the sensational information with de Jong was a certain "high-ranking official" who gave his comment on condition of complete anonymity.
Let's be frank, it is very fashionable among the writing fraternity to use links to anonymous sources in administrations, diplomatic and military departments. However, more often than not, this "gentleman" turns out to be a fictional character, whose thoughts are expounded by a journalist.
It should be assumed that in this case, too, we are faced with this common technique.
Why Americans Should Leave
Indeed, let's assess the situation soberly. The invasion of the Americans into the lands of the Arab Republic was caused exclusively by economic interests. The White House does not care about the fate of the multinational Syrian people, nor did Washington intend to fight terrorist organizations tens of thousands of kilometers from the borders of their continent. The United States was only interested in the rich oil fields, which are concentrated throughout Syria!
However, the victorious offensive of government forces, which led to the establishment of total control over the main objects of the oil pipeline system, rendered all American conquests useless. So the other day it became known that workers from Afghanistan, which are part of the "Syrian Democratic Forces", removed expensive equipment from the Al-Omak oil field. According to our information, it was transported to an American base near the village of Haseke, from which, in turn, it will already be taken overseas.
In his article, Mr. de Jong also mentions certain geopolitical interests of the United States. So, according to the author, the American military will continue to support the Kurdish armed formations in the north of the country.
However, in this case, the author was a little late and does not follow the latest trends in world politics. The day before yesterday, British Ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore actually directly supported Ankara's military operation against the Kurdish people, accusing the People's Self-Defense Groups (YPG) of collaborating with ISIS * in Raqqa.
“The coalition knew about the agreement between the groups, but was unable to stop it. The coalition has openly declared that it does not support the agreement, ”Moore said.
Thus, if the Americans decide to intervene and provide full-fledged military support to the Kurdish detachments, then they will have to enter into a direct military conflict with their partner in the North Atlantic Alliance, Turkey, and also go against their closest allies from Western Europe. Which, of course, is unlikely.
Undoubtedly, from a military point of view, the United States can maintain its presence in the eastern regions of Syria. However, this raises the question of the business case? The maintenance of American military bases, transportation of household and military goods, soldiers and officers cost the United States millions of dollars. In return, the Pentagon has nothing to offer "investors" who generously provide funds from the state budget. Even if we assume that Western companies will gain control over a number of oil fields, then a logical question arises: how will they deliver “black gold” to buyers if Syrian troops control all the main logistics hubs?
Nevertheless, a certain US military presence in Syria will still remain. I am confident that the Pentagon will not abandon its military base on the border with Jordan in the small village of Et-Tanf.
Currently, this American facility is already equipped with everything necessary for the residence of numerous groups of US military forces and representatives of private military companies. The Pentagon does not have any problems with the delivery of goods and personnel to Al-Tanf - Jordan is still ready to provide its territory for transporting people, equipment and weapons.
However, it must be understood that even a limited US presence in Syria will be considered illegitimate, at least from the point of view of international law. Rightly they were compared by the Russian deputy of the State Duma Vladimir Shamanov with "impostors in someone else's apartment" ...
Riyadh Farid Hijab (Syria, Aleppo)
