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Russia seeks to prevent Libya-style regime change in Syria: Analyst

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (file photo)

Press TV has conducted an interview with Mark Sleboda, an international relations and security analyst in Moscow, to discuss the remarks made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, saying Moscow will continue arming the Syrian government to help the Arab nation in its fight against Takfiri terrorists.

What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: There are lots of deductions that are being made right now at this juncture about Russia and what it is doing in Syria. Perhaps you can just explain to us what is going on.

Sleboda: Russia has been very open and very transparent about what exactly it is doing in Syria. It is in Syria, it has a small number of troops that the majority of which are advisers and trainers. They are there at the request and with the permission of the Syrian government. They are there specifically to train and advise Syrian personnel on the use of Russian military hardware equipment which Russia has provided to the Syrian government for well over 40 years but in particular during the last four years of serious fight against terrorism, the 25,000 foreign Jihadists that have invaded their country and so on.

Russia has been very upfront, very clear about this yet in the western press we see a sudden flurry of news about it as if it is something new, and they are trying to create a perception that is entirely untrue that Russia is sending large numbers of combat troops to Syria, which is completely false.

Press TV: They made it sound like Russia is trying to overtake Syria in terms of its military build-up and obviously it is something that Russia has been doing all along in terms of providing, as it has stated, humanitarian and military assistance.

However, at this juncture we are looking at an increased military activity by US allies in Syria. Do you think that there is slowly but surely an invasion that is in the works or is going on right now?

Sleboda: There are two reasons why Russia is also, to a small extent, increasing its presence in Syria and that is primarily to assist again more training advisers with more equipment. It may include some limited air capabilities. They may be building an airbase near Latakia with a small number of fighters and helicopters to aid in the fight against ISIS.

However, there is another reason why Russian troops I believe are in Syria. That is to prevent a Western and with their allied dictatorship club led by Saudi Arabia to prevent a Libya-style regime change operation, an overt military regime change  operation that would begin using the refugee crisis very conveniently as a pretext. They would begin by establishing “safe havens” and no-fly zones for terrorists in the north and in the south of the country. We are most likely to see Turkish troops in the north, perhaps [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi troops moving into the south to secure these areas. They would then be used as a base for terrorism to [launch] strikes across the west of the country to Damascus in an attempt to drive the Syrian government from power.

In this case Russian troops are there not to militarily confront this but to act in effect as human shields. That is it would be impossible for the US to launch airstrikes on Syrian government-controlled territory within Syria without hitting and killing Russian troops which would of course lead to an escalation of tensions between nuclear armed powers that no one is prepared for it.  

Press TV: So when John Kerry comes out and says that this may lead to confrontation, what Russia is doing, what does that exactly mean do you think?

Sleboda: It means clearly one thing. The only way it could lead to confrontation is if the primary goal of US and their proxies, tens of thousands of foreign Jihadists, their military presence in Syria is primarily not to combat ISIS which Russia is perfectly willing to assist in as they have stated repeatedly but as if the primary goal of these western forces is the overthrow of the Syrian government which is fighting ISIS and has been fighting ISIS for the last two or three years now.

That is the only way a confrontation could occur and I think John Kerry is making threats and quite dangerous threats indicating that the US may “accidentally” destroy Russian military advisers there in providing air cover for their terrorist proxies running around the country. It is a quite inflammatory statement I think.


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