Over 250,000 dead and 12 million people leaving the country; this is the still provisional record of the situation in Syria.
Over 250,000 dead and roughly 12 million people who have left the country - this is the still provisional record of the situation in Syria. A situation that seems to grow more intricate by the day, with an impact on regional and European security. A war zone for the rebels who have opposed the regime in Damascus, such as Islamic State or Al-Qaeda fundamentalists, but also the more moderate factions, and the forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, Syria, as a theater of military operations, got even more complicated the moment Moscow gave a favorable answer to Syrian leader' call for Russia to initiate air strikes in its support.
An important actor in the conflict, Washington supports the rebels who oppose Bashar Al-Assad, having at the same time a common enemy with the Damascus regime: the Jihadists of the self-proclaimed Islamic State and the Al-Qaeda militias in the region. Despite being at loggerheads with one another as regards their stance on Syria, Moscow and Washington have nonetheless managed to reach an agreement, with the aim of avoiding unwanted clashes on the Syrian front.
With details on the Syrian conflict, here is Radio Romania's Correspondent to Moscow Alexandru Beleavschi. "The document is called 'The Memorandum of Mutual Understanding between the Defense Ministries of Russia and the United States on preventing incidents and providing for aviation flights during operations in Syria'. According to the Russian deputy defense minister Anatoli Antonov, the document regulates the actions of manned and unmanned aircraft in the airspace above Syria and contains a set of rules and limitations aimed at preventing incidents between the air forces of Russia and the US. The Russian Defense Ministry has also stated that the regulations stipulated in the memorandum also apply to pilots of countries other than the United States, but which are also part of the anti-ISIS coalition. "
The Russian Defense Ministry says that Russia's military is acting in Syria at the request of the Syrian legitimate authorities, but the US-led coalition is not present there on a legal basis. Russia's military operation in Syria has become more intense as soon as the Syrian army started its ground offensive. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air forces have destroyed hundreds of ISIS sites, as well as positions held by other terrorist organizations, which are now riddled with confusion and defection. The success the Syrian army has scored on the ground is rather insignificant in the cities, where the Russian air forces have not taken action, harboring Islamist strongholds, benefiting from developed underground communications networks.
But how is the situation in Syria viewed in Washington? With details on that, here is Radio Romania's correspondent to Washington Doina Saiciuc: "The US administration is trying to re-launch peace talks for Syria with Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and potentially, even with Iran, talks that could lead to a complete cessation of the fight between president Assad's army and the moderate opposition forces, enabling all parties involved to focus on the defeat of Islamic State militants. At the State Department, spokesman John Kirby emphasized that the agreement memorandum jointly signed by the US Defense Department and the Russian Defense Ministry on the rules of safe navigation in the Syrian airspace for the coalition pilots did not change the United States' stated objective regarding a political transition in Syria, which would translate into president Assad's leaving power."
According to John Kirby, if we take a look at the targets Russia has been hitting, and the support given to the Syrian government on the ground, the only possible conclusion is that Russia intends to support the Assad regime, which will only escalate the conflict, will ignite sectarian tensions, thus leading up to more extremism there or elsewhere in the region. The signing of the memorandum, which is something important for the safety of the pilots, does nothing to appease the US's concern regarding Russia's military action in Syria, John Kirby also said.
In another move, the White House has criticized Russia after the rare visit president Bashar Al-Assad has paid to Moscow this week, for a meeting with president Vladimir Putin. "We view the red carpet welcome for Assad, who has used chemical weapons against his own people, at odds with the stated goal by the Russians for a political transition in Syria," White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters. Bucharest believes that peace in Syria can only be re-established through dialogue.
Here is Romania's president Klaus Johannis: "The fact that as of late Russia has got involved in Syria militarily does not provide a solution to the crisis, it only renders the situation more complicated. This is Romania's official standpoint and it is this standpoint that we intend to make known everywhere. It is not a merely theoretical point. Romania is one of the very few countries left that has still kept its staff at the Embassy in Damascus. We are not one of the great actors, yet because we are there, we can act as facilitators in talks that can lead to peace in the region."
Some of the pundits view Russia's intervention in Syria as an attempt from Moscow to change the strategic landscape in the Middle East, with Vladimir Putin taking advantage of the US administration's weak reaction, in order to restore the role Russia once had in the region in the 1970s,
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