Russia Sought to Provoke Syria Against Israel
Filed under: Middle East ~ Russia
The Daily Star of Israel reports:
A senior Israeli defense official accused Russia on Thursday of stoking tensions between the Jewish state and Syria. "During a certain period, the Russians acted in such a manner that the Syrians thought Israel wanted to engage in a war against their country," Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political department, told Army Radio. "The Russians then stopped their incitement following explanations that were communicated to them, according to which Syria had no intention of attacking Israel, and Israel did not aim to take the initiative in a war against Syria. This allowed a calming of tensions." Citing anonymous sources, the Maariv tabloid reported that Russian officials had told the Syrian leadership that Israel was preparing for a war.
Kommersant reports that this explains a recent mobilization effort between the two countries:
The Israeli media reported at the beginning of the summer that the Syrian Army was taking exceptional measures that could only be interpreted as urgent preparations for war. Those were purchases of larges lots of weapons, massive military exercises, engineering work to strengthen fortifications in the areas of the Golan Heights bordering on Israel and the placement of short-range missile installations there. The Israeli Army took responsive measures, fortifying its positions on its side of the border and conducting military exercises based on a scenario of war with Syria. Both sides set themselves of the goal of full preparedness for war by July.
It's far from unprecedented for Russia to stir up trouble in the Middle East. By doing so, Russia creates the conditions necessary to continue the spike in world oil prices, insuring its only source of significant revenue, and simultaneously pokes a finger in the eye of its hated rival, the U.S. Russia has provided massive quantities of weapons to Syria, nuclear technology (and missiles to defend it) to Iran and large chunks of cash to the terrorists regimes of Hamas and Hezbollah. But this new development is a clear escalation, showing that Russia is willing to foment actual armed conflict between rival nation states in order to secure its own ends.
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