Tuesday 19 June 2012

Iran, Russia, China, Syria To Stage Biggest Military Drills in ME

Iranian, Russian, Chinese and Syrian armies are to stage joint war games in Syria in the coming weeks, Fars news agency cited informed sources as saying.
“90,000 forces from the four countries will take pWar gamesart in the land and sea war games due to be held along the Syrian coasts,” the sources said, adding that ground, air and sea forces as well as air defense and missile units of the four countries will take part in the exercises.

The sources also said that Egypt has acceded to grant passage to 12 Chinese warships to sail through the Suez Canal, adding that the military convoy is due to dock at the Syrian harbors in the next two weeks.
Russian atomic submarines and warships, aircraft carriers and mine-clearing destroyers as well as Iranian battleships and submarines will also arrive in Syria at around the same date, Fars reported.

A sum of 400 warplanes and 1,000 tanks will also be used in the exercises.
A Syrian official, who asked to remain anonymous, had informed two weeks ago that the drills would be conducted in Syria soon, the agency said.
Unofficial sources also said the four countries are now busy with taking swift preparatory measures for these biggest-ever war games in the Middle-East.

Syria denies war games with Russia, China, Iran

Published Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Syria on Tuesday denied media claims it is to stage large-scale war games with Russia, China and Iran, Interfax reported.

Iranian news agency, Fars, initially reported that 90,000 troops and hundreds of ships, tanks and warplanes from the four countries would take part in the war games on land and sea in Syria soon.
But that was quickly dismissed by a Syrian official as "false information," Russian news wire Interfax reported.

"There will be nothing like that. This is one of those (pieces of) false information that are distributed about (Syria)," Interfax quoted Bouthaina Shabaan, an adviser to Assad who was in Moscow on Tuesday, as saying.

Interfax said she was referring to a report on the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television that was similar to the Fars article.

Iran, Russia and China have stood by Syrian President Bashar Assad as he has tried to crush a 15-month uprising against his rule.

Russia and China fear Western powers are seeking to exploit the Syrian crisis to further their interests, and blame the West for arming Syrian rebels and perpetuating the conflict.

Fars cited an unnamed Syrian official in its report that alleged the "biggest ever war games in the Middle-East," would take place, adding that 400 warplanes and 1,000 tanks would be used in the exercises.

(Al-Akhbar, Fars, Reuters)

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