The Russian Foreign Ministry has not let America’s illegal shooting down of a Syrian fighter jet go unanswered.
Sergei Lavrov commented on the American attack on Syria in Raqqa and called on Washington to respect Syrian territorial integrity and the country’s sovereignty according to the UNSC 2254 resolution.
“We call on the United States and all others who have their forces or advisors on the ground [in Syria] to ensure the coordination in our work. Zones of de-escalation are one of the possible options to jointly move forward. We call on everyone to avoid unilateral moves, respect Syrian sovereignty and join our common work which is agreed with the Syrian Arab Republic’s government.”
“As for the events on the ground in the Syrian Arab Republic,… it is necessary to fully respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. Therefore, any actions on the ground, and there are many involved parties, including those who carry out military operations, must be coordinated with Damascus.”
Sputnik News reports that Lavrov is urging the United States to coordinate actions in Syria and avoid unilateral actions,
He [Lavrov] commented on the US’ boosting of its presence in southern Syria, saying that all actions in Syria need to be coordinated with legitimate Syrian authorities, “especially when it comes to the occupation of certain territories in Syria, including those that could prompt questions from the point of view of the true intentions of those who carry out such seizures [of territory].”
What this episode however also shows is something else: that in the US once the regime change caravan gets onto the road there is nothing that can be done to turn it back even if its original destination has become beyond its reach.
With President Assad’s government backed by Russian air power firmly in control of ‘useful Syria’ – the wealthy and populous regions in Syria’s west along Syria’s Mediterranean coast – there is no longer any realistic possibility that it can be overthrown or that regime change can happen in Syria. The manoeuvres the US is engaging in in eastern Syria, even if they succeed (which is doubtful) can only provide it with stretches of empty desert and a few oil and gas fields.
In the meantime these same manoeuvres are risking a dangerous clash with the Syrians, who are backed by the Russians, and are sowing alarm amongst the US’s regional ‘allies’ Iraq (which is now de facto allied with Syria) and Turkey (which is horrified by US backing for the Kurds). Meanwhile the US’s key allies in the regime change war in Syria – Saudi Arabia and Qatar – have fallen out with each other.
It is impossible to see what the US can usefully gain from all its manoeuvres, whilst the risks it runs, and the enemies it is making, are all too obvious.
Nonetheless it seems that in Syria – as everywhere else – the US has no reverse gear.
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