Moscow has legitimate concerns to bomb ISIL in Syria: Pundit

Press TV has interviewed political commentator Mimi al-Laham, from Australia, to discuss the ongoing Russian attacks against the ISIL terrorists in Syria.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: NATO has gone out all rhetorical guns blazing against Russia over what Russians call “an accidental Turkish airspace incursion”. Do you think this will be an ultimate pretext for a NATO-Russian war?

Laham: No, absolutely not. I think NATO cannot really do anything at this circumstance except rhetoric and war of words. Turkey itself has said that they have no problem with Russia. They understand that it was a mistake and it will not happen again. So Turkey itself has taken a step back; it is only NATO that is pushing forward with the rhetoric and that is because the US is quite taken aback and shocked by the Russian new strength shown in Syria. They [Americans] really do not know what to do and now they are taking every avenue they can to fight a war of words against Russia in the media.

Press TV: We know the Russian campaign is actually pulling extraordinary results during a week and we also know about the US coalition which actually failed to do anything significant. Why do you think at this point Russia, and NATO, and the US and their Western allies all looking for the same goal to root out these terrorists from Syria and elsewhere? Why do you think they are not joining hands instead of their strong rhetoric?

Laham: Well it is very clear. The reason is they do not have the same goals. Russia does have legitimate concerns about terrorism because it threatens its own national interests and they have allies inside the Syrian government and has had Syria as an ally for decades. So they have real reason to fight terrorism in Syria and that is why their strikes have been effective.

On the other hand, terrorism in Syria is a result of US foreign policy and in spite of their anti-ISIS rhetoric, what we see on the ground is that their actions speak louder than their words. ISIS has grown stronger since their airstrikes began. And they continue to allow their Saudi Arabian, Qatari and Turkish allies to aid and abet these terrorist forces because their real objective is to divide and conquer on Syria, Iraq, and entire Middle East.

Press TV: What do you think about the tactical progress of the Russian and Syrian armed forces? Do you think Russia did actually make a right decision to come in at this particular time?

Laham: Well absolutely. You know the US and all of its allies, NATO; have really started to escalate their rhetoric. They have violated Syrian sovereignty, they have broken international law, they are bombing Syria, they are still supporting terrorism and then, on top of all of this, there was a sudden moment where the United States threatened the Syrian military directly and I think at that point Russia really had to step in and show a presence in Syria to show that Russia’s influence and power are still capable of defending its allies. So the Syrian people really are happy to have Russia as an ally in this front not only to defeat the terrorists but also to force...imperialism from continuing their attack against the Syrian state.

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