Since Friday evening’s attacks, French officials have repeatedly declared their desire to see a “grand coalition” of nations fighting ISIS, with President Hollande saying it’s time to put aside “diverging interests” and unite against ISIS in general.
This comment is pointed squarely at the current divide in the ISIS war, with the US-led coalition fighting one anti-ISIS war, and several other nations fighting ISIS, but being excluded by the US. Russia is the biggest of these nations, and the US seems eager to keep it that way.
Speaking during his visit to the Philippines, President Obama insisted Russia needed to be kept out of their coalition right now, and that the US intends to “wait and see” if Russia gets closer to the US position on a diplomatic settlement at the Vienna talks.
Russia has been calling for reforms leading to free elections, while the Obama Administration demands the exclusion of President Assad and other top figures in the existing Syrian government from any post-war government. Officials seem to hope they can leverage Russia’s desire to get involved in the coalition to get them to make concessions on the reform plan.
Whether that’s going to work out remains to be seen, but Russia’s primary goal in its involvement in Syria is to assure they retain their naval base at Tartus, and they are unlikely to willingly allow the entire government they’re allied to to be simply expelled in favor of pro-US rebels in the hopes that they’ll be allowed into the bigger coalition fighting ISIS.
What pro-US rebels? There is no viable or even identifiable Syrian government in exile. The US wants a replay of the same crap they pulled in Iraq, ie trying to install a double agent/ would be stooge like the late Mr Ahmed Chalabi .
US policy in Syria is, and always has been, about regime change in Damascus.
They will import refugees instead of stopping the war. More dead. Russia is actually making headway as their ally has gained ground. The news reports Saudi Arabia isnumber 1 country wth pro-ISIL tweets.
Not totally true. Syria has won its first victory in two years at an important air base around Aleppo.
Also Russian backed rebels in Ukraine appeared bogged down for months in Eastern Ukraine when at last they won a sweeping victory over fascist forces from Kiev.
Hollande's attitude is based on domestic political considerations. With regional elections on 6 and 13 December and the Russian-funded Front National toeing Putin's line to the last comma, he probably sees it as desirable to "steal their thunder" by playing the Russian card. In practical terms, it makes little difference whether or not Russia is inside or outside the coalition. Putin is waging his own private war to save his naval base and will continue to do so whatever happens. Talk of leverage is probably just an easy war to reject a proposal that the French probably didn't want to be accepted anyway.
No, Russia is not doing this for a self-serving purpose, stop feeding us such mainstream media brainwash.
The next time ANY state does ANYTHING for a purpose that isn't self-serving will be the first time I've ever heard of.