The conflict in Syria has seen the convergence of multiple, sometimes opposing forces in the skies over a near-decade-long civil war that today threatens to draw the United States’ foreign policy resources back into the quagmire, one in which its closest ally, Israel, and a leading rival, Russia, are among those operating in dangerous proximity.

The sudden roar of jets and missile blasts have become an all too common feature of Syria’s ongoing war, and last week’s attacks across the country’s southwest served as an explosive reminder of the war’s lingering violence. The airstrikes, which were unclaimed but widely blamed on Israel, targeted positions near the Golan Heights and Damascus International Airport, where Israel has accused Iran-linked elements of storing and transporting weapons.

While the attacks were intended to cause harm on the ground, one senior U.S. intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, raised concerns about the sheer volume of air traffic caused by Israel’s semi-secret bombing campaign while the Russian and Syrian air forces carry out their own missions.

The official told Newsweek that, at the time, “the U.S. observed a significant increase in military air activity over Syria, including forces from Israel and Russia in addition to Syrian aircraft.”

The increased traffic made a mishap more likely, the official said.

“The airspace was saturated above daily norms,” the official said, “presenting an elevated opportunity of miscalculation or perhaps the misidentification of targets by all entities.”

The U.S. operates in Syria today as part of a multinational coalition tasked with the defeat of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in the country’s northeast. Russia and Syria also target ISIS in other parts of the country, along with other insurgent forces, some backed by Turkey. Iran supports this latter campaign on the ground, but its partnered militias are viewed as a threat and targeted by Israel.

The complex lines of control are blurred and have led to reports of up to 170 reported aviation and unmanned aerial vehicle incidents involving at least seven nations as well as non-state actors. On the ground in Syria, some worry a misunderstanding could always be mere moments away.

“About the crowded airspace over Syria, it’s always been a concern, notably after the U.S. stepped in Syria,” a Syrian source who asked to remain anonymous told Newsweek.

With so many countries operating in Syrian airspace, the chances of something going wrong are high, this source said.

And then add missiles to the mix.

“Now where Russia and the U.S. and Turkey and France, not to mention Israel, are all operating over/near Syria accidents are always possible,” the source added, “especially when the case involves air defense missiles. Once the missile is launched, there’s no turning back.”

A Russian Sukhoi Su-27 plane flies over Binnish during pro-government forces airstrikes on rebel-held areas surrounding the government-controlled town of Saraqeb, in the northwestern Idlib province on March 4, 2020. Russian and Syrian warplanes occasionally share the skies with Israeli forces targeting suspected Iran-linked positions and Syrian air defense sites. MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

There have already been a number of lethal, high-profile miscalculations, such as Syria’s accidental downing of a Russian spy plane during an Israeli raid in 2018. Others, such as the U.S. shoot-down of a Syrian jet allegedly flying over territory held by the Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces the year prior, were deliberate escalations.

The Israeli and Syrian armed forces have also shot down one another’s warplanes. As yet, there have been no clashes between Israeli and Russian aircraft. But with an increased number of forays into Syria by Israel, such an incident cannot be ruled out.

To prevent this, the two countries have a coordination mechanism on Syria, the details of which are difficult to discern, especially given Moscow’s close ties to Damascus and strategic partnership with Tehran. At the same time, Russia has expressed its criticism of Israeli operations in the country.

“It is hard to deny that such actions further destabilize the complicated regional situation,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters amid an intensification of Israeli strikes in December.

Israel rarely discusses the specifics of its Syria operations, but an Israeli military official told Newsweek that the country’s communications with Russia have mitigated the risk to both sides.

“We do indeed have a deconfliction mechanism with the Russian military which facilitates our freedom of action while minimizing the risk of friction with Russian troops, and promotes mutual safety,” the Israeli military official said. “So far, it has been very effective and withstood challenging circumstances in a very dense battlespace.”

Newsweek also spoke last month with an Israeli security official who discussed the challenges of target selection in Syria given the ambiguity surrounding the conflict there, where local troops, Iranian personnel, fighters of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement, and sometimes Russian forces are operating.

“[The Syrian army] gives [Hezbollah] a lot of space to do what they want, and it makes life a bit uncomfortable,” the Israeli security official said at the time. “It’s a big problem for us to actually decide who to strike and what to do.”

Syria’s permanent mission to the United Nations has condemned what it called “acts of aggression perpetrated by Israel” in past statements sent to Newsweek.

On the ground, a second Syrian source who requested anonymity described the layout of this stretch of Syria’s air activity, where not only military-to-military incidents but those involving military and civilian airlines are “a very common thing.”

The Syrian government’s aerial operations over its own country are limited. Restricted areas include the autonomous northeast, a U.S.-controlled southeast desert pocket, and a northern border stretch occupied by rebels, jihadis and Turkish troops, the second source said.

Syrian jets also operate along the southern and western borders, as well as off the Mediterranean coast, but this source noted any activity too close to Lebanese or Israeli borders would be met with an Israeli military response.

The second source said the Russians don’t share these limitations—or any, for that matter.

“There are some restrictions beyond our waters, there are some restrictions over Lebanon, over the south,” the second source explained. “While for Russia there are no restrictions at all. They are more free than us.”

This freedom extends to and beyond Syria’s exclusive economic zone as well, where “U.S. spy planes are also flying,” this source said.

An Israeli airstrike strikes “military targets belonging to the Iranian Quds Force & Syrian Armed Forces in Syria” on November 18, 2020, according to the IDF. Israel has accused Syria of allowing Iran and its regional partners to transport advanced weapons and set up forward operating bases in the country. ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES

The U.S. and Russia have their own deconfliction channels, both for air and ground operations in Syria’s northeast, where tensions between the two countries and their respective allies have mounted in recent months. The two countries have largely pursued their campaigns separately, but have had occasional dust-ups, some of which have been violent.

For other parties, however, there is little to no communication at all, greatly increasing the risk to both armed forces and civilians.

“Unlike the case between Russia and the U.S. where a direct line of communication between the two is existing and minor incidents can be easily stopped before escalation,” the first Syrian source told Newsweek, “the aerial clashes between the two adversaries, i.e. Syria and Israel, have always placed the regional civilian flights in danger.”

“Israeli jets flying in a civilian corridor or near a civilian plane and Syrian missiles seeking after a big radar pulse after missing their locked targets or crashing into a house, you name it,” the first source said. “Errors are possible and will always be costly.”

While Moscow’s mission in Syria to save President Bashar al-Assad‘s government from a nationwide insurrection has been clear from the start, Washington’s goals have shifted over the course of administrations. Former President Barack Obama initially sought to topple Assad by supporting insurgents but switched to an anti-ISIS mission later carried out by former President Donald Trump, who expressed a desire to withdraw but kept up to 900 troops behind to guard oil and gas sites.

President Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president, has offered no indication of ending U.S. presence in Syria, despite Damascus’ calls for withdrawal. The new U.S. leadership has also not signaled a willingness to become further involved in the conflict.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, a State Department spokesperson detailed three aims of President Joe Biden’s administration in Syria.

First, “The United States is committed to a political settlement in line with UNSCR 2254 to end the conflict in Syria, in close consultation with our allies, partners, and the U.N.,” the spokesperson said.

Second, “We will use the tools at our disposal, including economic pressure, to push for meaningful reform and accountability for the Assad regime,” according to the statement.

Third, “The United States and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS continue to work with our increasingly capable local partners to maintain constant pressure on ISIS remnants in Syria to ensure ISIS’s lasting defeat,” as relayed to Newsweek by the State Department spokesperson.

But U.S. officials have routinely declined to discuss the role in Syria played by Israel, a country the Biden administration has reaffirmed a longstanding pact to defend. Israel went entirely unmentioned in the Pentagon‘s latest quarterly report to Congress detailing U.S. military missions in Iraq and Syria, despite including references to the other major actors, including Iran, Russia, and Turkey.

Reached for comment by Newsweek, the U.S. Central Command declined to discuss the specifics of air operations over the stretch of the country frequented by Russian and Israeli jets.

“I am going to decline to comment on the air space over Western Syria,” a Pentagon spokesperson said.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views and editorial stance of the SOHR.

Source: An Unintended Syria Air Clash Could Pull Biden Into Conflict Involving Russia, Israel

Source: https://www.syriahr.com/en/204739/

The post An Unintended Syria Air Clash Could Pull Biden Into Conflict Involving Russia, Israel first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The German newspaper Die Welt reported that Germany accepted almost 10,000 migrants and asylum seekers between 2016 and March 2020 under the EU-Turkey deal. The numbers were released following a question to the interior ministry from a member of the liberal FDP party.

The post Germany has taken nearly 10,000 migrants under EU-Turkey deal since 2016, report first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Migrants wait to board a ferry in the port of Mytilene, on the island of Lesbos, Greece, on March 20. (Vangelis Papantonis/AP)

The post Europe has relied on Turkey to stem another migration crisis. That plan backfired. first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

A demonstrator holds a representation of the Israeli flag which is set on fire during the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day rally in Tehran, Iran, May 31, 2019. Vahid Salemi,AP

• Israel strikes Syria, says it foiled Iranian drone attack

• As Hezbollah leader blasts Israel, Iran-backed militias struck on Iraq-Syria border

• Israel says Iran’s Quds Force team arrived in Syria months ago to prepare for drone attack

  ---

  The Iranian plan to launch a swarm of “killer drones” toward Israeli targets from Syria, which was foiled by the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday night, was not exactly unprecedented.

  >> Subscribe for just $1 now

  In the last 19 months, there have been at least four attempts by Iran, or militias working on its behalf, to launch either attack drones or missiles toward Israel — starting with the UAV shot down by an Israeli Apache helicopter moments after it crossed the border in February 2018.

  What is different in this latest escalation is that the level of preparation by the Iranians seems higher than previously. The decision taken by the high command of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps to launch the attack can be directly linked to its desire to retaliate for reported airstrikes by Israel against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

  What is also new is the swiftness of Israel’s acknowledgment of these particular strikes, both in detailed briefings by the IDF spokesperson’s unit and statements from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While most of the unclaimed Israeli attacks were targeted at future threats, the IDF said the latest strike prevented an immediate attack on Israel.

  And of course, there is also the perhaps coincidental fact that Netanyahu is facing a crucial election in three weeks’ time. (Before the April election, he displayed similar willingness to claim strikes in Syria.)

  Despite its sworn enmity of the Jewish state for four decades, the Islamic revolutionary leadership of Iran avoided a direct military confrontation with Israel; instead, it used its various proxies.

  The strategic shift from February 2018, toward active participation of the IRGC’s Quds force in the attacks, is a result of several factors, some springing from internal Iranian politics and the desire to score propaganda victories. Had some of the drones succeeded in targeting Israel, the damage would have been relatively minor, as they can only carry a few kilograms of explosives. But the effect on both the Israeli and Iranian public consciousnesses would have been enormous.

  
  Damage inside a media center of Hezbollah in the south of the capital Beirut, after two drones came down in the vicinity of its building earlier in the day, August 25, 2019.\ MOHAMED AZAKIR/ REUTERS

  ---

  Another reason for the IRGC’s willingness to take higher risks and commit to a major escalation with Israel is its frustration at Israel’s successful interdiction of its plan to establish a permanent military presence in Syria, including the threat posed by such a presence to Israel’s heartland.

  Israel has achieved considerable success — both on an intelligence level in detecting Iran’s attempts, and operationally in attacking and destroying Iranian assets in Syria in hundreds of strikes, most of which have remained unacknowledged. But it should remain in perspective as well.

  Israel has succeeded in foiling Iranian attack plans and preventing the establishment of long-term bases on Syrian soil. But it has fallen short on its overarching goal of ending all Iranian military presence in the country. This was to be achieved partly through pressure from Russia (and the United States), but as Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown, he is playing a much more complicated game in Syria.

  Since Russia’s deployment to Syria, it has partnered with Iran in propping up the regime of Bashar Assad. At the same time, it hasn’t acted to block Israel from attacking Iranian assets there. The undeclared pact between Netanyahu and Putin is that Israel can go after Iran’s offensive capacities when these threaten Israel.

  But the forces amassed by Iran in Syria — mainly Hezbollah fighters and Shi’ite Afghan, Iraqi and Pakistani militia members, trained in Iran — have remained untouched. Russia wants Shi’ite boots on the ground so that it doesn’t have to risk too many of its own soldiers. In other words, Iran has produced the cannon fodder.

  At various points during the eight-year war in Syria, there have been those within the Israeli security establishment who called for attacks on the Assad regime forces who killed hundreds of thousands and uprooted millions of Syrian civilians. Netanyahu intentionally limited the scope of Israel’s operations in Syria, striking only targets that could potentially pose a direct threat to Israel. This policy became even more rigid once Russian forces arrived in Syria.

  Essentially, Israel and Iran are at a stalemate in Syria. Iran has kept Assad in power, but its plans to turn Syria into another base for its proxy operations — as it has done in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen — have been foiled so far. And yet there are tens of thousands of Shi’ite fighters in Syria, under Iran’s direct control. As proven by the events of Saturday night, they will continue trying to use Syria as a launchpad for attacks on Israel.

The post Analysis Why Iran Is Risking a Major Escalation With Israel first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

An emerging Russia-Turkey alliance in defense and energy will have long-term effects on the Middle East and Israel. This comes in the wake of Turkey acquiring Russia’s S-400 air defense system and the development of the TurkStream pipeline, which stretches across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey.

As Turkey and Russia grow closer, they inevitably also grow closer in their efforts to end the Syrian conflict, as well as other regional and international issues. This has led Turkey away from its traditional alliance with the US, and focused on a new alliance structure with Russia and other allies, for instance, a Turkey-Qatar and Russia-Iran alliance, in which they share certain interests. In the long term, a closer block of Russia-Syria-Iran-Turkey-Qatar may emerge, alongside other powerful states such as China, India, and central Asian actors, some of which seek to challenge the US.

This has long-term implications for Israel because Israel is a close US ally that opposes the rising power of Iran in the Middle East. Israel enjoyed close relations with Turkey up until the mid-2000s when things soured under Turkey’s current administration. Russia and Israel enjoy good relations today, but what happens if their interests begin to not coincide in places like Syria, where tensions already exist?

Some recent headlines represent the growing alliance. The National Interest says that Turkey stockpiled F-16 parts prior to acquiring the S-400, knowing US relations would suffer. Russia has recently restored some visa-free travel from Turkey. Russia and Turkey are discussing joint production of civilian aircraft and helicopters. Tass News says that they may also begin joint exploration for energy in the Mediterranean.

Taken together, it is clear that a defense and energy alliance is growing. Israel has its own energy interests in the Mediterranean and its own defense relationships. The long-term effect of the Russia-Turkey alliance is in its infancy, but joint defense work and energy exploration should be taken more seriously by neighbors in the Middle East.

Seth Frantzman is The Jerusalem Post’s op-ed editor, a Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a founder of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis.

---

Source: https://www.meforum.org/59047/russia-and-turkey-are-becoming-allies

[Disclaimer]

The post Russia and Turkey are Becoming Allies, Overshadowing Israel first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Al-Buwayda is a quiet, dusty town on the road from Irbid in northern Jordan to Mafraq. It was here that the wave of Syrian refugees who fled fighting crested in 2015. The population of the area doubled from 95,000 to 200,000. Today, many of the 1 million Syrians who came to Jordan are setting down roots and raising families. Amman now must face the challenge of integrating them while it awaits the U.S. peace plan expected to be rolled out in June, after Ramadan.

Washington must tread carefully in the next few months, and recognize that the aftermath of the Syrian conflict and war against ISIS are deeply linked, through Jordan, to a peace push in Jerusalem. If the Trump administration wants to bolster its allies, including Israel and Jordan, it should remember that Amman is key to stability and security.

Jordan is at the center of the three pivotal flashpoints in the Middle East. As host of Syrian refugees, it plays a crucial role in preventing instability in Syria and Iraq from spreading; it helped to broker a ceasefire in southern Syria that lasted until summer 2018. Jordan is a link for U.S. forces in Tanf, in southern Syria, and was supportive of U.S. and western efforts to support the Syrian rebels until Washington ended that support in July 2017.

In a March 29 speech, King Abdullah II underlined Jordan’s “ongoing efforts for a lasting resolution of the region’s core conflict, the Palestinian-Israeli crisis.” Jordan supports a two-state solution, with a viable, independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, according to the king. It also supports a secure Israel, “fully part of its own region, recognized by Arab and Muslims states around the world.”

Jordan quietly has sounded the alarm since December 2016, prodding the United States against recognition of Jerusalem and tempering Oman’s recent outreach to Israel with a push for a Palestinian state. It is a stark choice for the kingdom. King Abdullah I was assassinated in Jerusalem by a Palestinian in 1951, and King Hussein had to face down a Palestinian uprising in 1970. Any crises with the Palestinians could directly impact Amman.

Lastly, Jordan has been closely involved in the war against ISIS, and sees the fight against terror as essential to regional stability. A Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot was burned alive by ISIS in January 2015. Recently, 13 suspects went on trial in Jordan for involvement in a terror cell. In Irbid, near Al-Buwayda, Jordanian security forces have detained and sentenced to death suspected ISIS members. Though ISIS was defeated in the past year, concerns remain about its threat in the region.

In separate meetings, Jordan hosted Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for African Affairs Ahmed Abdul Aziz Kattan on April 17. Unique in the region, Jordan has warm relations with both sides of the Gulf crisis and recently hosted Arab leaders at Dead Sea conferences in January and in April.

Jordan requires support. It received commitments as part of the Jordan Compact in 2016 and London Initiative this March, but hosting 1 million Syrians, more than half of whom are under age 18, is a growing challenge. Washington is committed to providing $1.27 billion annually in assistance, including $350 million in foreign military financing to the kingdom.

The Trump administration’s peace plan comes at a complex time, just as Jordan is trying to emerge from years of economic crises and to play a role in regional security. In discussions with Syrian refugees in Jordan, none of them said they were willing to return to Syria. Many families have raised children in the kingdom in the past eight years and consider themselves part of a new Syrian-Jordanian population. They fear Bashar al-Assad’s forcible conscription even after Syria reopened the border with Jordan in October 2018, and won’t risk their sons being detained.

Jordan wants to achieve stability by continuing to host the Syrians, but it will have difficulty doing that and facing a major Palestinian-Israeli crisis at the same time.

“Any future arrangements without [the king’s] approval will not be done well,” a Palestinian security officer told me in early April. Unlike Egypt, Jordan has little space to maneuver, he said. As custodian of Christian and Muslim holy sites, the king sees Jerusalem as a key issue — something made clear by posters throughout Jordan showing the king next to images of Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

The Trump administration has sought to call bluffs in the past about violence resulting from the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem and its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. It would do well to look closely at developments in Jordan, to see how the Syrian conflict and the end of the ISIS war make Amman central to what happens next in Jerusalem.

Seth J. Frantzman spent three years in Iraq and other countries in the region researching the war on terror and Islamic State. He is executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis. A former assistant professor of American Studies at Al-Quds University, he covers the Middle East for The Jerusalem Post and is a writing fellow at the Middle East Forum. Follow him on Twitter @sfrantzman.

Source: https://thehill.com/opinion/international/440460-jordan-in-crucible-of-middle-east-peace-deal-and-syrian-refugee-crisis

The post Jordan in crucible of Middle East peace deal and Syrian refugee crisis first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

TUNIS – Arab leaders, long divided by regional rivalries, condemned on Sunday a US decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and said Middle East stability depended on creating an Palestinian state.

Arab leaders, gathering at summit in Tunis, have been under popular pressure to reject Washington’s action, while they also grapple with regional differences, including a bitter Gulf Arab dispute, splits over Iran’s regional influence, the war in Yemen and unrest in Algeria and Sudan.

The abrupt departure from the summit of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who is locked in a row with Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies, suggested regional differences were not easily buried. No reason was given for his departure.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz told Arab monarchs, presidents and prime ministers at the meeting that his country “absolutely rejects” any measures affecting Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

President Donald Trump’s signed a proclamation last week recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, which annexed the area in 1981 after capturing it from Syria in 1967.

The Saudi king’s condemnation echoed those of Arab officials before Sunday’s summit of the Arab League, which usually ends with a final declaration agreed by the 22 member states.

Trump’s Golan decision followed a US move less than four months ago to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a decision that also drew Arab condemnation. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said Arab leaders also needed to ensure the international community understood the importance of the Palestinian cause to Arab nations.

Regional and international stability should come through “a just and comprehensive settlement that includes the rights of the Palestinian people and leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Essebsi said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the meeting in Tunis, said any resolution to the Syrian conflict must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria “including the occupied Golan Heights.”
The Tunis summit brought together the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the first time at the same gathering since 2017 when Riyadh and its allies imposed a political and economic boycott on Doha.

But Qatar’s emir left the summit hall shortly after Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit praised the way Saudi Arabia handled its rotating Arab League presidency last year, live television footage showed.

Qatar’s state news agency did not say why Tamim left, but Tunisia’s state news agency TAP said the rest of Qatar’s delegation stayed.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and say it has been cozying up to Iran, a charge Doha denies.

The row has defied mediation efforts by Kuwait and the United States, which called Gulf Arab states to unite in opposition to Iranian influence in the region.

King Salman, whose country has long vied with Iran for influence, called for confronting what he called the “aggressive policies of the Iranian regime.” He said Iran was interfering in Arab affairs, a charge Tehran dismisses.

Arab states remain divided over other issues, including how to deal with pro-democracy protests that have erupted in the region since 2011.

The leaders of Sudan and Algeria were not at Sunday’s meeting as both nations have been roiled by anti-government protests.

Syria’s seat at the summit was vacant. Damascus as been suspended from the League since 2011 over its crackdown on protesters at the start of its civil war. The League has said no consensus has yet been reached to allow Syria’s reinstatement.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Arab-leaders-condemn-US-recognition-of-Israeli-Golan-585358

The post Arab leaders condemn U.S. Recognition of Israeli Golan first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Vehicles belonging to the US-backed coalition drive down a road in Syria’s northern Deir Ez-Zor province, February 21. (AFP)

Written ByMajed Kayali

Majed Kayali is a Palestinian writer.

---

Source: https://thearabweekly.com/syrian-conflict-brink-turning-point

[Disclaimer]

The post The Syrian conflict at the brink of a turning point first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Sergey Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Air defense systems S-300 will impede Israeli Air Force flights, including reconnaissance ones, over Syria. Although Tel-Aviv earlier said it would not give up its operations, the S-300 factor puts pressure on the Israeli leadership, the chief of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, Alexander Mikhailov, told TASS on Monday.

Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel would not give up its operations in Syria in defiance of the supply of Russia’s S-300 systems to that country.

“When Russia’s S-300s are turned on over Syrian-Israeli points of engagement, the Israeli pilots know they are on Russian radars. Naturally, they report this to their superiors and this puts pressure on the Israeli leadership,” Mikhailov said.

“The Israeli leadership’s position has been determined – Israel wants to go ahead with unhampered flights over Syria’s border areas and press for its decisions regarding the presence of Iranian forces there, which under our agreements with Israel are now leaving these territories,” Mikhailov said.

He believes that if Israel continues to coordinate its actions with the Russian group in Syria further on, it will be possible to avoid incidents in the future.

“We would like to believe that if Israel and the Israeli Defense Ministry hold consultations with the Russian group in Syria over all activities, no conflicts will ever emerge. I believe that the Israeli leadership will display common sense not to repeat such incidents and to stay out of the areas where our systems are turned on,” Mikhailov said.

He believes that in order to ease tensions Russia should maintain a dialogue with Israel.

“We should conduct a mutually beneficial dialogue with Israel and address it with fresh reminders that combat operations are in progress away from the Russian borders, but near the Israeli ones, so it would make no sense to aggravate the already complicated situation… One would like to believe that the Israeli Defense Ministry will refrain from provoking the Syrian air defense into hitting Israeli aircraft,” he added.

Ilyushin-20 crash in the Mediterranean

Russia’s reconnaissance and radio-electronic warfare plane Ilyushin-20 was shot down over the Mediterranean on September 17 while returning to the Hmeymim airbase. The Russian Defense Ministry said the plane was downed with a missile launched by Syria’s air defense system S-200, which was counterattacking four Israeli jets F-16 during their strikes against targets in Latakia province. The Ilyushin-20’s fifteen crew were killed in the tragedy.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on September 24 said that the loss of the Ilyushin-20 in Syria due to the Israeli air pilots’ actions forced Moscow to take extra security measures. Russia’s air defense systems S-300 will be deployed in Syria within two weeks, the command posts of Syria’s air defense will be equipped with automatic Russian systems capable of identifying Russian planes and Russian means of radio-electronic warfare will pose obstructions to air strikes against targets in Syria.

Source: http://tass.com/defense/1024991

The post S-300 to impede Israeli Air Force flights over Syria, says analyst first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Germany could join a military alliance with the US, UK, and France if Syria tries another chemical attack first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.