Many wonder why Putin abandoned Syria after fighting 9 years in Syria’s defense. Putin’s abandonment of Syria might have been influenced by China’s conditional support for Russia in Ukraine. China’s conditions include “no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting.” These conditions might also explain why Europe and the US have been spared strikes in response to their attacks on Russia with long range missiles. In his speech yesterday (December 14) to United Russia, the dominant political party , Putin redefined his threatened strikes against the West. They have been reduced to retaliations within Ukraine.
The Chinese communique published in Xinhua, the official state news agency of the People’s Republic of China, on Medvedev’s meeting with Xi, reads: “On the Ukraine crisis, China has repeatedly emphasized the need to uphold the three principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation by any party [this only applies to Russia], to promote the easing of the situation as soon as possible, Xi said. He added that China will continue to adhere to its consistent position and work with the international community to create favorable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis. https://english.news.cn/20241213/5619c58e58e44decb2cd7438a6e3b5b1/c.html
Medvedev said that the Russian side speaks highly of China’s position on the Ukraine crisis, pays attention to the Group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine crisis, an initiative put forward by China, Brazil and other countries, and is willing to actively promote the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. It sounds like, as in Syria, Russia will abandon a battlefield settlement where it has the edge and make a paper settlement where Russia always loses.
John Helmer, who has been reporting from Moscow for 35 years, wonders if Putin’s disastrous decisions will bring a time of troubles between Putin and the Russian General Staff. https://www.unz.com/article/the-new-time-of-troubles-part-ii-putin-overruled-the-general-staff/
Helmer reports that “The General Staff and GRU warned Putin that Erdogan and Netanyahu could not be trusted to adhere to the Astana Agreement, and that without Russian military force to deter them, plus Iranian troops, they would take over Syrian territory – the Turks down the coast to the Lebanese border and to Damascus; the Israelis across the Golan and the Quneitra buffer zone into the southern outskirts of Damascus.” Washington gets to keep the oil area of Syria. The Russian General Staff was correct. The partition of Syria along these lines is now occurring.
From Helmer’s report, it appears that the Israel Lobby owns Putin as well as Washington:
“A well-informed Moscow source comments there is no surprise in Moscow at Putin’s decision-making to favor Israel and Turkey at the expense of the Arabs and Iran. The source also warns that the surprise expressed by Anglo-American podcasters who support Putin in the Ukraine war “reflects their readiness to say what they believe the Kremlin wants to hear – with or without reward.”
“An accurate guide to the Kremlin propaganda line right now, the source indicates, is a Moscow-based American academic named Andrew Korybko. He has turned the General Staff’s warning upside down, defending Putin’s decision to accommodate Israel and Turkey in Syria as reflecting the realistic military balance in the Middle East right now. “Putin is a proud lifelong philo-Semite,” Korybko says, “who never shared the Resistance’s unifying anti-Zionist ideology, instead always expressing very deep respect for Jews and the State of Israel. . . . Russia dodged a bullet by wisely choosing not to ally with the now-defeated [Arab-Iranian] Resistance Axis since it would have needlessly ruined its relations with Israel, the undisputable victor of the West Asian Wars.” [Definition of philo-Semite: Philo-Semitism or Judeophilia is an interest in, respect for and an appreciation of Jewish people, their history and the influence of Judaism, particularly on the part of a gentile. Within the Jewish community, philo-Semitism includes an interest in Jewish culture and a love of things that are considered Jewish.]
“This is toadying,” the Moscow source comments, but indicative. “The toad is giving voice to those who think, plan, decide. He is giving the clearest official line on it all.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry sent the message that Syria is not a topic for discussion by evading questions of a Russian defeat.
Possibly Putin has revealed himself as a person devoid of strategic vision who has condemned both Russia and Iran to an indefensible position. On the other hand, he might be betting that Israel and Washington will be absorbed with the problems of dealing with the Middle East, leaving him a freer hand to go forward with BRICS. The risk is that having achieved what Israel and Washington regard as a strategic defeat of Russia and Iran, provocations of Russia will intensify and the difficulty of ending the conflict in Ukraine in a Russian victory has increased. The perception of a Russian defeat will likely hamper the development of BRICS.
Helmer reports that the Kremlin’s propaganda is focused on victory in Ukraine, which satisfies the public, and there is no public issue of the loss in Syria. The dissent is limited to the Russian military where there is concern that Russia cannot successfully defend herself without the ability to project power beyond her borders, an ability that was lost with Syria.
https://english.news.cn/20241213/5619c58e58e44decb2cd7438a6e3b5b1/c.html
