Russians Rushing From Syria

Not really, but that was the agenda-pushing narrative and impression my mouthpiece media was trying to give. 

"Rebel fighters give ground to Syrian troops in Aleppo" by Dalal Mawad and Damien Cave  |  New York Times, August 09, 2012

BEIRUT — There were new, disputed accounts regarding an equally contentious claim by the insurgents that they had killed a senior Russian general acting as a military adviser to government forces around the capital, Damascus.

A rebel group calling itself the Hawks Special Operations Battalion said in a video posted on YouTube that it had ‘‘eliminated’’ General Vladimir Petrovich Kochyev.

The video showed what the rebels said was a copy of an identity card issued by the Russian military.

There was no independent corroboration of the assertion, which was denied strenuously in Moscow by Russian media reports saying the general had been in Syria but was currently on vacation outside Moscow.

So he had already fled?

It was not clear whether the claims and counterclaims were part of the broader propaganda war between Damascus and its adversaries.

Being fought in my.... newspaper?

Russia, which has a naval base in Syria, is Assad’s most important international sponsor....

And I'll bet they don't want to give up that naval base in a vital ocean.

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"The new fighting came as Russia soundly rejected US calls for increased pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to relinquish power, citing its commercial interests." 

Yeah, good thing the U.S. never has any of those (as blog editor rolls his eyes skyward)

"Syrian troops bombard cemetery; Russia reiterates: No intervention" by Damien Cave and Rick Gladstone  |  New York Times, August 22, 2012

BEIRUT — The new violence was reported as Syria, backed by Russia, its most important foreign supporter, rejected warnings by President Obama about possible intervention in the 18-month-old conflict if Syria were to move or deploy unconventional weapons. Speaking to reporters in Washington  on Monday, Obama said the United States regarded the movement or utilization of chemical or biological weapons to be ‘‘a red line.’’ 

Oh, no, NOT THIS BOGUS, BS ARGUMENT AGAIN!!

US intelligence officials believe the Syrian government has a large quantity of chemical weapons. It is not known whether it has biological weapons.

Umm, you guys really don't think this ton of a turd is going to fly again, do you? Do you really think we are that stoo-pid out here?

After meeting on Tuesday with a Syrian deputy prime minister, Jamil Qadri, in Moscow, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, reiterated the Kremlin’s longstanding opposition to foreign intervention and repeated Russia’s desire to help the Syrian government and the rebels reach their own settlement.

And that is why you get an embassy bombed (among other reasons, like peace talk).

Qadri, appearing with Lavrov at a news conference at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Obama’s warning about unconventional weapons was a pretext to justify interference. ‘‘The West is looking for an excuse to intervene directly in the affairs of our country,’’ Qadri said, adding a jab about claims by the Bush administration of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, used to justify the US invasion of that country in 2003, that were never found....


Because they didn't exist.

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Have they no shame? 

US, Russia join in talks on Syrian war

In Washington, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said intelligence reports raise fears that an increasingly desperate Syrian President Bashar Assad is considering using his chemical weapons arsenal — which the United States and Russia agree is unacceptable. Other administration officials in recent days have spoken about Syrians preparing weapon components of sarin gas."

Nope.

"Syrian rebels target airport to cut off regime’s supplies" by Barbara Surk  |  Associated Press, December 08, 2012

BEIRUT — Iran and Russia are widely believed to be supplying the Assad regime with weapons through the airport.

And who is supplying the rebels? I don't see much about that save for vague illusions to distant third-party allies like Qatar.

Moscow has rejected Western sanctions against Assad’s regime and said it would honor earlier signed weapons contracts with Syria for the delivery of antishipping and air defense missiles. The Kremlin insists that the Russian arms sales don’t violate any international agreements....

Besides, Syria is going to need them soon.

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Also see: US, Russia join in talks on Syrian war

And I have to tell you, I loved reading this next highlighted part:

"Syria fighting spills into Lebanon, judges defect to rebels; 4 killed, 12 hurt; 9 Assad judges defect to rebels" by Barbara Surk  |  Associated Press, December 10, 2012

BEIRUT —In Geneva, the United Nation’s Special Representative for Syria and the Arab League, Lakdhar Brahimi, met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to discuss the crisis in Syria.

They said in a joint statement that the situation in Syria was ‘‘bad and getting worse,’’ but added that a political process to end the conflict was ‘‘still necessary and still possible.’’

Russia and the United States have argued bitterly over how to address the conflict, which began with peaceful protests against Assad in March 2011 and escalated into a civil war that has killed an estimated 40,000 people. Activists said another 45 were killed Sunday.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia agreed to take part in the Geneva talks on condition there would be no demand for Assad to step down. Washington and its allies, including Turkey and Qatar, have repeatedly called on the Syrian president to step down to help stop the bloodshed.

Oh, yeah, Turkey shipping in weapons like crazy. That is where most of them are coming in.

‘‘We are not conducting any negotiations on the fate of Assad,’’ Lavrov said, adding that the Americans were wrong to see Moscow as softening its position on Syria. ‘‘All attempts to portray things differently are unscrupulous, even for diplomats of those countries which are known to try to distort the facts in their favor.’’

And for the mouthpiece media that speaks for them back home!! What Lavrov is letting us all know is the AmeriKan media is lying to us, and letting them know that we all know!

Addressing fears that Assad could use chemical weapons in a last-ditch effort to save his regime, Lavrov once again said the Syrian government has given assurances that it has no intention of ever using the weapons of mass destruction. He said the greatest threat is that they would fall into the hands of militants.

Thus, IF THEY ARE USED they will have been ONE MORE EVENT in a LONG LINE of WESTERN FALSE FLAGS. 

Russia’s foreign minister said that after he agreed to a US proposal to have his deputies and those of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton brainstorm on Syria, the Americans began to suggest that Russia was softening its position.

‘‘No such thing,’’ Lavrov said. ‘‘We have not changed our position.’’

He urged the international community to come together and ‘‘with one voice’’ to demand a cease-fire, return UN observers in bigger numbers, and begin a political dialogue. Lavrov repeated that Russia was not wedded to Assad but believed that only the Syrians have the right to choose their leaders.... 

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"Panetta signs deployment order to aid Turkey" by THOM SHANKER and MICHAEL R. GORDON  |  New York Times, December 15, 2012

INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey — In Moscow, meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry sought to distance itself from comments a day earlier by its Middle East envoy that the Syrian rebels may defeat Assad, a longstanding Kremlin ally and arms client. A ministry spokesman, Alexander K. Lukashe vich, said Russia remained committed to a political solution in Syria.

“We have never changed our position and will not change it,’’ Lukashevich said.

He rejected a comment made by a State Department spokesman Thursday that Moscow had ‘‘woken up’’ and changed its position as dynamics shifted on the battlefield, saying ‘‘we have never been asleep.’’

I believe that.

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Related:

Russia seeks to meet with Syria opposition
Russia and NATO say that rebels could win in Syria
Speculation of Bashar Assad exit grows

You see what I have to put up with day after day?

"Russia says it will not help Assad leave Syria; Key ally appears to be distancing itself from leader" by Kareem Fahim  |  New York Times, December 23, 2012

BEIRUT — Sergey V. Lavrov’s comments follow several days of signals from Russia that it is distancing itself from Assad, while maintaining its strong opposition to any Western intervention in Syria....

It's stunning, isn't it? What more is there to say, really?

Lavrov also said Saturday that Syria has consolidated its chemical weapons into one or two locations to protect them from falling into the hands of militants. Russia, which has military advisers in the country to train Syria’s armed forces, is monitoring the chemical arsenal, Lavrov added.

Oh, that's going to make a false flag hard as hell to carry off.

Syria refuses to confirm or deny if it has chemical weapons, but is believed to have nerve agents, as well as mustard gas. It also possesses Scud missiles capable of delivering them. The Assad government has said it would never use such weapons against its own people.

It KEEPS GETTING BETTER all the time, doesn't it? That's what happens when you build a mountain of bulls***.

Concerns over the arsenal have escalated as the Assad regime suffers losses on the battlefield.

Are they? 

See: Syrian Rebels Strike Again

Who is Winning the War in Syria?

Had enough?

US intelligence officials have said the regime may be readying chemical weapons and could be desperate enough to use them. Both Israel and the United States have also expressed concerns about the weapons.

Well, they are SAFELY under the protection of the RUSSIANS, so.... 

Both Lavrov and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia have in recent days said that they predict a long period of instability in Syria. On Saturday, Lavrov said he believed that Western intelligence services shared the assessment that ‘‘the end of the regime will hardly bring an end’’ to the conflict.

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As for that end:

"Assad will never leave Syria, Russian official says; Minister chides rebels over talks" by Ellen Barry  |  New York Times, December 30, 2012

MOSCOW — Moscow has made a muscular push for a political solution in recent days, sending signals that the Kremlin, one of Assad’s most important allies, sees a pressing need for political change. As an international consensus forms around the notion of a transitional government, it has been snagged on the question of what role, if any, Assad would occupy in it.

But after talks in Moscow on Saturday with Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations and Arab League envoy on Syria, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei V. Lavrov, said Russia could not press Assad to give up power. Lavrov has said Russia ‘‘isn’t in the business of regime change,’’ but his characterization of Assad’s stance on Saturday sounded more definitive.

Wow, he called it out!

‘‘He has repeatedly said, both publicly and privately, including during his meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi not long ago, that he has no plans to go anywhere, that he will stay in his post until the end, that he will, as he says, protect the Syrian people, Syrian sovereignty, and so forth,’’ Lavrov said. ‘‘There is no possibility of changing this position.’’

There have been evident changes in the long standoff over Syria in recent weeks, as Russia acknowledged that government forces were losing territory and as it distanced itself from Assad....

Tired of the distortions yet? 

Moscow may see these talks as a chance to rebuild its prestige in the Arab world, where Russia’s historically strong alliances have been badly damaged by the standoff over Syria. Lavrov bridled Saturday when a reporter from an Arabic news channel asked him to comment on criticism that Russia was ‘‘a participant in the Syrian conflict’’ because it continued to fulfill weapons contracts with Damascus after the outbreak of violence.

The accusation, Lavrov said, ‘‘is so far from the truth that there’s no way to comment on it.’’ He said that Russia did not supply the government with offensive weapons, and that much of Syria’s arsenal dated to the Soviet era. He also said the opposition was receiving a far more deadly flow of weapons and aid.

How sad that the TRUTH must come from the MOUTHS of RUSSIANS, 'eh, American?

Unlike some other countries, Lavrov said, ‘‘we do not have the dozens and hundreds of representatives of the Russian special forces’’ in and around Syria. ‘‘It’s possible to speak about direct participation in the conflict, but it doesn’t apply to the Russian Federation.’’ 

If you know the truth as I do you can see him calling out western intelligence services and governments.

The leader of the main opposition coalition, Sheik Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, responded coolly to an overture on Friday from Russia, saying Moscow should publicly apologize for its pro-government position. He also refused to meet with Russian leaders in Moscow, saying a meeting was possible only in an Arab country.

Lavrov said Saturday that he would agree to such a meeting, but responded to Khatib’s remarks with an equally chilly response.

‘‘I know that Mr. Khatib is probably not very experienced in politics,’’ he said. ‘‘If he aspires to the role of a serious politician, he will nonetheless understand that it is in his own interests to hear our analysis directly from us.’’ 

I never thought it was a good idea to diss the Russians.

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"Envoy warns of ‘full collapse’ for Syria; UN aide foresees ‘Somalization’" by Bassem Mroue  |  Associated Press, December 31, 2012

BEIRUT — Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said Saturday that Assad has no intention of stepping down and it would be impossible to try to persuade him otherwise. Lavrov also said that the Syrian opposition risks sacrificing many more lives if it continues to insist on Assad’s leaving office as a precondition for holding talks....

The Syrian conflict has split world powers, with the United States, Turkey, and many European and Arab states calling for Assad to stand down. Russia, China, and Iran have stood by the regime and criticized calls for Assad’s ouster.

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"A recent flurry of diplomatic activity by Russia, the United Nations’ special envoy, and others aimed at finding a political solution in Syria appeared to founder in recent days." 

Who is trying to avoid war?

"In recent weeks, Russian officials have distanced themselves from Assad as the conflict has worsened. Russian security officials were quoted in Monday’s edition of the daily Kommersant as saying that Russian diplomats and expatriates in Damascus would be evacuated with the help of special forces, if necessary." 

I suppose distancing oneself is different from softening.

And there they go running for the exits:

"With Syria’s turmoil rising, Russia moves to evacuate 100; Increasingly, Assad viewed as losing control; rebel coalition struggles to start governing system" by Ellen Barry and Hania Mourtada  |  New York Times, January 22, 2013

MOSCOW — Russia said Monday it was sending two airplanes from its emergency services fleet to Beirut to evacuate about 100 Russian citizens from Syria, reflecting Moscow’s assessment that President Bashar Assad’s forces are losing control of the country after nearly two years of fighting.

It was not clear whether the news signaled the beginning of a large-scale evacuation. Russia has an estimated 30,000 citizens in Syria, including government and military personnel, private contractors, and tens of thousands of women married to Syrian men.

About a dozen Russian ships are in the Mediterranean off Syria for naval exercises and could, officials have said, be used to evacuate Russian citizens.

A not too subtle signal for NATO and the coalition to stay out.

Irina Rossius, a spokeswoman for Russia’s Emergency Services Ministry, said two airplanes would fly to Beirut on Tuesday ‘‘so that all Russians who wish to can leave Syria,’’ Interfax reported.

She said more than 100 Russians are expected to leave. It is now common for people leaving Damascus, if they can afford it, to avoid the contested route to the city’s airport by driving to Beirut and flying out from there.

Rossius did not say which group was evacuating, but conditions have been deteriorating for diplomats. Last week, Russia announced that it was closing its consulate in Aleppo following a double bombing that killed 82 people, and security officials told the newspaper Kommersant last month that the authorities were prepared to send 100 armed intelligence officers to help Russian diplomats leave Damascus if necessary.

Russian arms manufacturers also have military advisers in place to assist the Syrian military with air-defense systems purchased from Russia.

Russia first formulated plans for an evacuation seven months ago but delayed putting them into action — in part, analysts said, because it would send a political message that Moscow no longer considered it likely that Assad would prevail. But Foreign Ministry officials are increasingly concerned about security and have been quietly trying to negotiate the release of two Russian steelworkers kidnapped last month....  

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"Russia starts helping citizens leave Syria; Move suggests shift in relations with Assad" by Bassem Mroue  |  Associated Press, January 23, 2013

MASNAA, Lebanon — Russia, a key Syrian ally, began evacuating its citizens from Syria on Tuesday as the civil war gathered momentum in the capital Damascus with intense fighting around the international airport.

The evacuation was the strongest sign yet of Moscow’s waning confidence in the ability of its ally President Bashar Assad to hold onto power. The UN chief said Tuesday that a diplomatic conclusion to the war seems unlikely.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the Russian evacuations indicate ‘‘the continued deterioration of the security situation and the violence that Assad is leading against his own people.’’

Four buses carrying about 80 people, mostly women and children, crossed out of the country into neighboring Lebanon in the early afternoon. They were bound for Beirut to fly home in two planes that Russia sent. They apparently were not flown home out of Damascus because of the fighting around the airport there.

Russia announced the beginning of the evacuations on Monday, saying it would take out 100 nationals. The Russian Foreign Ministry says there are tens of thousands of Russians living in Syria.

The officials said thousands more evacuations could follow....

In recent months, Russia has started distancing itself from Assad. President Vladimir Putin said last month that he understands Syria needs change and that he was not protecting the Syrian ruler.

Officials at the Russian Embassy in Damascus said they have several thousand citizens registered as living in Syria. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters, said some of the people who were being evacuated Tuesday have lost their houses and need Russian government assistance to leave.

The officials downplayed the evacuation effort, denying that they are assisting their nationals’ departures from Syria because of the deteriorating security situation.

That's odd. My AmeriKan media is playing it up.

One of the officials, who identified herself only as the embassy’s head of protocol, said the government was simply responding to those who had asked for help in leaving Syria, suggesting they were mostly Russians living in areas where the fighting is fiercest.

In Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov dismissed reports that the evacuations were the beginning of a Russian exodus. He said that Russian planes landed in Beirut to deliver humanitarian aid at the Syrian government’s request, and would take home those who wanted to leave....

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"Russia admits large Syria evacuation amid fighting" by Barbara Surkand Vladimir Isachenkov  |  Associated Press, January 24, 2013

BEIRUT — Russia acknowledged Wednesday for the first time that it pulled the families of its diplomats out of Syria long ago, and rejected suggestions that the recent evacuation of dozens of its citizens marks the start of a larger rescue effort....

Russia, a close Damascus ally for decades, has continued to be the main protector of the Assad regime since the start of the Syrian uprising, shielding it from UN sanctions over a bloody crackdown. Moscow also continued to provide Assad with weapons even as the uprising morphed into a civil war, adding to massive arsenals of Soviet and Russian weapons Damascus has received over previous decades.

Despite the escalating violence in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sought to play down the significance of the 77 Russian citizens who fled Syria a day earlier and returned to Moscow on two flights on Wednesday. He told reporters that about 1,000 Russians residing in Syria, mostly women married to Syrian men, contacted consular officials to express their interest in leaving the country. He said no large-scale evacuation of the tens of thousands of Russians still in the country was immediately planned.

However, Lavrov for the first time mentioned that families of Russian diplomats ‘‘left long ago.’’ He did not provide further details, but said that the embassy in Damascus is functioning normally. 

Russia has recently started to distance itself from Assad, and a top diplomat acknowledged last month that the rebels might win the civil war.

Do I really need to comment after what is above, readers? 

Is it s***-slop journalism, or are they just leaving things in as filler? Alter a few phrases, write a few new lead paragraphs, and then a job well done, huh? 

But the evacuation was the strongest sign yet of Moscow’s waning confidence in the ability of Assad to hold on to power as rebels gain momentum in their fight to oust the regime....

(Blog editor just sighs at another log of a lie is rolled out)

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"Russia offers to broker Syria talks" by Albert Aji and Ryan Lucas  |  Associated Press, February 21, 2013

DAMASCUS, Syria — Russia and the Arab League proposed Wednesday to broker talks between the Syrian opposition and President Bashar Assad’s regime to try to resolve the country’s civil war....

The 23-month-old conflict, which has killed more than 70,000 Syrians and laid waste to the country’s cities, has repeatedly defied international efforts to bring the parties together to end the bloodshed. Wednesday’s offer from Moscow, one of Assad’s closest allies, suggested the regime could be warming to the idea of a settlement as it struggles to hold territory and claw back ground it has lost.

If you read the two posts below this that I already linked here, well, what more is there left to say? Why am I reading a Globe, that's about it.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia said the Kremlin and the Arab League are attempting to establish direct contact between the Syrian regime and the opposition. Sitting at the negotiating table is the only way to end the conflict without irreparably damaging Syria, he said.

“Neither side can allow itself to rely on a military solution to the conflict, because it’s a road to nowhere, a road to mutual destruction of the people,” Lavrov said in Moscow, where he hosted league officials and several Arab foreign ministers.

Both Lavrov and General Secretary Nabil Elaraby of the Arab League said their main priority was to create a transitional government to navigate a way out of the conflict.

No conditions for negotiations have been set. Lavrov said both sides’ readiness to talk is “the most important thing.”

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem of Syria will lead a delegation to Moscow on Monday, and Russia is expecting a visit in March from the opposition Syrian National Coalition leader, Mouaz al-Khatib.

Khatib has said he is open to talks with the regime that could pave the way for Assad’s departure, but that the Syrian leader must first release tens of thousands of detainees. The government has refused.

Russia’s proposal Wednesday got a cool reception from the opposition....

Still, Wednesday’s proposal was notable because it emanated from Russia — Assad’s chief international advocate. It is unlikely that Moscow would publicly propose to host talks without having first secured Damascus’ word that it would indeed sit down with the opposition.

The timing might mean the regime is willing to negotiate....

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And then the Russian embassy is bombed the very next day?

Also see:

Putin defends policy on Syria
China offers vague plan for Syria

The forgotten superpower in all this.