Russia has warned against NATO’s possible deployment of Patriot missiles near Turkey’s border with Syria.
Patriot anti-missile batteries installed at the Diyarbakir military airport in southeastern Turkey (AFP Photo / Mehdi Fedouach)
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday that Turkey’s request for deployment to the Western military alliance “would not foster stability in the region.”
NATO ambassadors met Wednesday to consider Turkey’s request, which followed weeks of talks between Ankara and NATO allies about how to shore up security on its 900 kilometer border to avoid a spillover from the Syrian civil war.
The alliance’s secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said the deployment would augment alliance member Turkey’s air defense capabilities and “would contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along NATO’s southeastern border.”
Turkey said Tuesday it had found allies who agreed to supply it with an advanced Patriot missile system. Only the United States, the Netherlands and Germany have the appropriate system available. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he had told his country’s ambassador to NATO to approve Turkey’s request.
Turkey’s border villages have been hit by artillery fire from Syria as forces loyal to Damascus battle rebels seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Rasmussen has said that any missile deployment would be a defensive measure to counter mortar rounds, and not to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria. Syrian rebels have called for a no-fly zone as they are almost defenseless against Syria’s air force.
via Russia Opposes NATO Missiles on Turkey-Syria Border.
Maria Sharapova upset world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in straight sets on Saturday to book an encounter with Serena Williams in Sunday’s WTA Championships final.
Sharapova beat Azarenka 6-4, 6-2 after earning two early breaks in the first set and taking control in the second when Azarenka began to struggle with a problem affecting her right thigh.
“When you’re playing the World No.1, you have to be ready for every shot – you have to run because the point can keep going and going,” Sharapova said on the WTA website.
“I’d lost to Victoria the last few times, so I’m really happy I put myself in the semifinals to play against her and try to improve that – I was hoping to have a better result, and I’m really happy I did today.”
The Belarusian leads Sharapova 7-5 in head-to-head meetings.
Despite the defeat, the Belarusian will hold the world No. 1 spot at the end of the season after winning six titles including her first Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open.
via Sharapova in Istanbul Final After Beating Azarenka | Sports | RIA Novosti.
Turkey’s protracted shopping for a long-range air defense system has been a sort of geopolitical bellwether for the country: in addition to considering systems from NATO allies U.S. and Italy, Ankara has been looking at Russian and Chinese options. If it goes for the latter, NATO has reportedly promised to cut Turkey out of its air defense monitoring system. But now it looks like Turkey may be abandoning the purchase altogether, reports Defense News:
Turkey’s highest defense body might decide to indefinitely postpone the country’s $4 billion air defense program, effectively killing it, sources and observers said.
In addition to analysts’ criticism that the long-range air and missile defense system is too expensive, other recent developments have raised questions about the project.
This month, for example, MBDA of Italy, one arm of bidder Eurosam, arranged a tour for several Turkish journalists to observe firing tests at two Italian land and naval installations. Turkish defense authorities at the last minute declined to permit reporters to visit the Italian sites, and MBDA had to cancel the tour.
This led to speculation that the program was going to be canceled or indefinitely postponed.
(Not really germane to the main point, but it’s remarkable that the Turkish government could forbid reporters from visiting Italy to see an Italian company exhibition.)
The problem is that Turkey may not need such a system:
Most analysts say that the system’s $4 billion cost is almost prohibitive; that it would be useless against the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, which fights only with light weapons; and that it would take too long to complete to be of use against Syria.
It’s not clear why those factors may have come to light only now, after years of considering this, and it could be just a feint in what seems to be an elaborate bargaining process. The next meeting of the Defense Industry Executive Committee next meets in December or January, Defense News reports, and could either pick a winner then or defer the program.
via Turkey May Abandon Controversial Air Defense Program | EurasiaNet.org.
Mr. Jeffrey Mankoff points out extremely important developments in Caucasus and Central Asia under different perspectives for followers of Strategic Outlook. (more…)
With a little bit of help from Russia, the Americans and the Syrians have established contact with each other, sending shockwaves in Turkey, which has blamed Moscow and Beijing for the continuation of strife in Syria.
AP In this September 28, 2012 photo, Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia, addresses U.N. General Assembly. He has said that Moscow had helped American experts to establish contact with Syria on the subject of chemical weapons.
Addressing the American media on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov dropped a bombshell. He said that Moscow had helped the American experts to establish contact with the Syrians on the subject of chemical weapons. “I hope I won’t disclose any big secret, but we have helped American experts establish contact with the Syrians on this issue, and we have received explanations and assurances that the Syrian government is guarding these facilities in the best possible way,” said Mr. Lavrov, as reported by Russia Today.
He also added that Russia was not considering granting asylum to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, in case he decided to quit office.
“No, we won’t grant him asylum,” Mr. Lavrov said, pointing out that the Syrian President “was a friend of other countries northwest of Syria.”
Lebanon’s Al Manar television website quoted its Arab sources in France as confirming that the U.S. delegation at the U.N. General Assembly annual session wanted to discuss with Syria, the issue of chemical weapons. The Syrian side pledged “with a Russian guarantee” that it would not use these weapons “inside Syria during the conflict between the government and the militant opposition”. However, the Syrian delegation was emphatic in stating that in case Syria was subjected to a foreign attack, in that case countries involved in inciting and participating in that attack would be legitimate targets “for the Syrian rockets… loaded with chemical warheads, including countries neighbouring Syria”.
Coinciding with the Mr. Lavrov’s announcement of opening a U.S.-Syria dialogue track on chemical weapons, Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan went uncharacteristically ballistic—blaming both Russia and China of siding with Syria. His outburst against Moscow and Beijing was aired live on NTV, a leading Turkish television station.
“The main source of disappointment is Russia. Let alone raising its voice against Syria, it stands by the massacre,” said Mr. Erdogan as reported by Reuters.
“China stands by Russia, and although [Chinese President] Hu Jintao had told me they wouldn’t veto the plan [for a safe zone] for a third time, they did at the U.N. vote.” Mr. Erdogan described the position of Iran, a staunch Syria ally, as “impossible to understand”.
Turkey has emerged as a frontline state against the Assad government, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United States as allies.
The bitter acrimony that this has caused between one time allies — Turkey and Syria — is climbing to new heights. Syria is now seriously considering arming Kurdish fighters for combat against
Turkey, Al Manar said. Citing its “Kurdish sources,” close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Syria, the website said that the Assad government “had sent a letter to Turkey saying that the Turkish interference in Syria would prompt Damascus to arm every Kurdish man in both Turkey and Syria”.
The Syrian government is apparently considering supplying the Kurds advanced weaponry including the anti-tank Kornet rockets, as it considers playing its “Kurdish card”.
Adding psychological warfare to its arsenal, the Syrian army has been sending cellphone text messages nationwide to the armed opposition stating: “Game Over”. These messages have also said that the countdown to evict the foreign fighters from Syria had begun, Associated Press reported.
Keywords: Syria uprising, Bashar Assad regime, U.S.-Syria contact, chemical weapons, Turkey-Syria ties
via The Hindu : News / International : Russia helps U.S., Syria establish contact, Turkey in shock.
PanARMENIAN.Net – The grandson of Cemal Pasha, one of the masterminds of the Armenian Genocide issued a book titled “1915: The Armenian Genocide.”
The news was first reported by Istanbul-based Agos weekly and confirmed by journalist Yavuz Baidar on Twitter.
“Armenians in Turkey were Russia-oriented and Turks had to kill them. That’s why the Genocide happened,” Hasan Cemal quotes his grandfather as saying in Munich in 1919.
Cemal is columnist at Milliyet newspaper. In 2008, he visited the Armenian Genocide memorial in Yerevan. His note in the memory book says: “To deny the Genocide would mean to be an accomplice in this crime against humanity.”
Ahmed Cemal Pasha was killed in Tbilisi in July 1922 by Stepan Dzaghigian, Artashes Gevorgyan and Petros Ter Poghosyan as part of Operation Nemesis for his role in the Armenian Genocide. His remains were brought to Erzerum and buried there.
via Cemal Pasha’s grandson issues book on Armenian Genocide – PanARMENIAN.Net.
