Kremlin 'Suspends'
Use of Tartus Naval Base in Syria (NezavisimayaGazeta, Russia)
"NezavisimayaGazeta obtained
these reports from military and diplomatic sources who participated in recent
talks with Syria's official delegation. ... Naval groups from the NATO
countries are already concentrated off the Syrian coast. The concentration of Russian
ships would have been dwarfed by NATO's. 'Our naval base in Tartus
will not support a military option. We cannot act militarily against countries
supporting the Syrian opposition,' the Defense Ministry source said."
A change in tack in the wind?: Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China State Councilor Dai Bingguo meet in Moscow, Aug. 21. At variance with reports coming from Western and Israeli media, Russian media reports, citing anonymous sources in the Russian Defense Ministry, are that there will be no build-up of Russian arms in Syria, and no use of Russia's base in Tartus.
Russia has suspended use of its naval base in Tartus, Syria. But it refuses to rule out using it in the
future. In addition, the central principles of cooperation with Damascus in the
military sphere have been set: Moscow will support the Assad regime primarily at
the political level, intelligence and humanitarian spheres. There are no large weapons
shipments planned. NezavisimayaGazeta obtained
these reports from military and diplomatic sources who participated in recent
talks with Syria's official delegation, which visited Moscow earlier in the
week.
Thus it has now become clear why naval groups from the three
fleets (Northern, Baltic and Black Sea) that had gathered in the Mediterranean unexpectedly
broke up, and the General Staff has changed its plans to base the Northern
Fleet in the Black Sea.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, there is still a chance of achieving Syrian
national reconciliation, and therefore given the circumstances, military
support for the Assad regime is not the main objective. In contrast to the
West, which has begun actively arming the opposition, Russia has deliberately
withdrawn practically all of its military forces from the Mediterranean. Thus
the original format of the “Caucasus 2012” naval exercise [video below], in which a detachment
of warships from the Northern Fleet consisting of three large amphibious ships [Ropucha class landing ships] - the Alexander Otrakovsky, the George
Pobedonosets, and the Kondopoga - which visited
Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk
on August 11-12 and was to participate in the maneuvers in the coming weeks,
has been changed.
After the exercise and being resupplied, the ships could
have continued to duty in the Mediterranean. Not anymore. Naval groups from the
NATO countries are already concentrated off the Syrian coast. The concentration
of Russian ships would have been dwarfed by NATO's.
“Our naval base in Tartus will
not support a military option. We cannot physically act militarily against countries
supporting the Syrian opposition,” the Defense Ministry source said.
He also denied media reports that allege naval personnel
have been evacuated from Tartus due to a
deterioration of the situation in western Syria. These was also confirmed at
Black Sea Fleet headquarters, where NezavisimayaGazeta was told officially that “the situation in Tartus remains calm. The staff of our Logistics Station (as
our military base in Syria is officially called - NG) continues to operate
normally.”
It was also reported that, in accordance with an earlier approved
plan, floating repair
ship PM-138, based at Tartus, will be moved to Sevastopol at the end of
September, and will be replaced by another vessel of the Black Sea Fleet. Meanwhile,
the source declined to comment on information that the naval facility in Syria,
which is under the operational control of the Black Sea Fleet, will soon stop providing
warships with resources and material. He would also not confirm or deny reports
that in the near term, Russian naval vessels plan to avoid the Logistics Station.
Sources in the Defense
Ministry say that Moscow supports Damascus through intelligence - as well as with
military and diplomatic means. In case of a deterioration of the situation in
Syria, with the help of Military
Transport Aviation, Moscow would have no trouble evacuating all of its
personnel from the Logistics Station. As for civilians, the plan is to utilize MTA
and Ministry
of Emergency Situations aircraft, since Aeroflot stopped all flights to
Syria on August 7. According to information from the Defense Ministry, logistics
with Syria are already being handled primarily by the Russian Air Force.
Posted by Worldmeets.US
“Russia
doesn't interfere with the situation in Syria. And it is especially opposed to
the various security scenarios being prepared by the West against the country.
For this reason, the fate of Russia’s military base will depend on how soon
peace can be established in Syria. It is hoped that President Bashar Al-Assad will manage to crush the irreconcilable
armed opposition, demonstrate a spirit of compromise and sit down at the negotiating
table with moderate political forces in the country that have taken a
constructive approach,” Director of the Center for Analysis of the Global Arms
Trade, Igor Korochenko, told NezavisimayaGazeta
"Russia has no clear plan to defend its geopolitical
position in the Middle East” said Lieutenant-General Yuri Netkachov
(ret.), a military strategist. “It seems that the situation here was allowed to
drift. Moscow could provide more effective military
assistance to the Assad regime, including in the military-technical field.
After the fall of Assad, Russia will lose its only ally and partner in the
region."
