Russia: US Deployment of Troops to Syria a Violation of Sovereignty

Notes US Sending Troops Without Government Permission

In comments today in the nation’s state-run media, Russian Deputy FM Sergey Ryabkov criticized the announced US plan to deploy 250 more ground troops into Syria, noting that the troops are being sent without the permission of the Syrian government.

President Obama announced the deployment on Monday, ironically less than 24 hours after “ruling out” sending ground troops to Syria. Ryabkov warned the move amounts to a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

This is indeed the position the US has taken historically on such deployments, and the US has been eager for instance to see a government installed in Libya specifically so it can endorse the US war in their territory that will inevitably follow.

Interestingly, when the US first launched its air war in Syria, targeting ISIS and al-Qaeda sites, the Syrian government offered to give them formal permission on condition that the US would coordinate the operations with them. The US has refused, making the actions effectively unlawful, a fact that’s becoming an ever-bigger deal as the US keeps escalating the conflict.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.