US Drone Carriers Pull out of Mediterranean, Open Way for Russian Warships

Local Editor

Two aircraft carriers stationed off the Syrian coast were sent back to the US this week in a move that the Obama administration thought would ease tensions.
The USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier and the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and its 2,500 marines were recalled after being stationed on the Syrian coast, allegedly in preparation of potential military invasion, Russia Today website reported.

The USS Eisenhower, which has the capacity to hold thousands of men, ready to launch an American-led military intervention “within days” if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were to use chemical weapons against the opposition, Time daily reported.

However, as the violence escalated in the past few days, the warships took off and headed back to the US.

The US usually has two aircraft carriers stationed in the Persian Gulf at all times, but will only have one deployed this month – the USS John C. Stennis, which is stationed nowhere near Syria.

On the other hand, the Russian Navy has sent five ships to the Mediterranean Sea to replace the ships of the Baltic Fleet, which have been patrolling the Eastern Mediterranean since November.

The Neustrashimyy-class frigate Yaroslav Mudri and landing ships Kaliningrad and Aleksandr Shabalin, accompanied by a towboat and a tanker ship, have set sail from their base in Baltiysk, the defense ministry announced on Tuesday.

Their mission includes exercises in air defense, anti-ship warfare and anti-submarine warfare, the Navy statement said.

The warships are being deployed as a contingency for the possible evacuation of Russian citizens from Syria, a source in the Navy told Interfax news agency. The vessels could transport Russian nationals from the warzone to Russia’s Black Sea ports, the source said.

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Syria: Russia has sent five warships to the Mediterranean Sea

 

By Viktor Reznov

– December 19, 2012 – Posted in: International

Syria: Russia prepares the evacuation of Russian citizens – really?

Russia has sent five warships to the Mediterranean Sea in order to replace the existing fleet of the Russian Navy in the region.

This move of Russia comes after the Russian foreign minister has said that it will call for the evacuation of Russian citizens in Syria if the Syrian government in the capital Damascus falls, which seems logical after the call of a bunch of “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) terrorists to kill all Russian and Ukrainian citizens in Syria.

A senior official of the Russian foreign ministry has already confirmed last week that Russia has prepared a plan to evacuate its citizens from Syria and that this plan will be implemented if the situation in Syria deteriorates further and especially in the case when the Syrian government in Damascus falls.

Of course, this plan of the evacuation of the Russian citizens in Syria does not only cover the staff of the Russian embassy in Syrian capital Damascus, but also all the several thousand Russian civilians who are living in the country as well as the staff of the small Russian base in the Syrian coast town of Tartous (Tartus).

It was already obvious since months that Russia is preparing such a plan to evacuate its citizens from Syria. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has just confirmed it again.
Three Russian warships and two support ships of the Russian Baltic Fleet will join the Russian naval forces in the Mediterranean Sea; among them is the Neustrashimyy-class frigate Yaroslav Mudri and the landing ships Kaliningrad and Aleksandr Shabalin. Both are accompanied by a Russian tanker ship and a towboat.

The Russian Navy has meanwhile confirmed that the mission of this Russian fleet includes some exercises in anti-ship warfare, air defence and also in anti-submarine warfare. As stated, this unit of Russian ships will replace the ships of the Russian Baltic Fleet, which have been patrolling the region since November 2012.

It is not clear so far if this Russian fleet will stop at the Syrian coast town of Tartous (Tartus) and thus visit the Russian support base at the port of this Syrian city.

Although a source has told the questionable Interfax news agency that these Russian warships are being deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for the possible evacuation of the Russian staff and citizens from Syria, it is not quite sure that this is the only possible cause for the deployment of these Russian ships.

The information that these Russian ships are just sent to the Mediterranean Sea for the possible evacuation of Russians from Syria could not be the only reason.

Of course, this information was interpreted by Western governments and especially by the US administration as a sign that Russia is changing its position about the Syrian conflict and situation and it might stop its support for the Syrian people, but the hypocritical statements of Victoria Nuland and others were quickly denied by Moscow.

In addition, some Russian analysts and even officials have confirmed that the statements of Victoria Nuland were just the known method to twist the words in order to publish some more propaganda in the psychological warfare.

Tartous, Syria

As said, that Russia has a plan for the evacuation of its citizens from Syria is already crystal-clear since months and no new development on the Russian side, but that the deployment of these Russian warships only confirms that Russia prepares for the possible evacuation of Russian citizens and workers from Syria is wrong.

Especially after the last short article by almanar.com.lb with the headline “Western Intelligence Finds Syrian Army Gaining Upper Hand”. It says that a detailed ground survey in different Syrian province by a huge Western intelligence apparatus has found out that the Syrian Arab army (“the government forces”) continue to have the upper hand on any other militant group.

In addition, some well-informed sources have allegedly said that the Syrian government and the Russian government agreed in principle on huge projects for the reconstruction of areas in Syria. All contracts would be signed by the Russian administration exclusively and the contracts are estimated to cost around tens of billions.

Of course, it is also to put into question whether the information in this article is correct. It seems logical that Syria needs a huge and expensive reconstruction after the conflict has ended and the armed terrorist groups and Islamists were removed from Syrian soil but it is not really clear if the Syrian leadership is already in negotiations about the reconstruction of stricken areas in Syria with the Russian government.

One the one hand, Russia thinks that it needs to evacuate its citizens and that the Syrian government might fall, while it “cares about the benefits” to agree on deals with the Syrian government in order to be a part of the reconstruction fleet after the situation in Syria has calmed down and the armed gangs are defeated? Hm.

Meanwhile, the Iran has again expressed concerns over NATO’s Patriot missile deployment in Turkey while some Patriot missile batteries have already arrived on Turkish soil. Iranian officials have expressed their deep concerns that the deployment of these Patriot missiles in Turkey by NATO is not only for defensive purposes and even violates international law.

For example, the Foreign Ministry spokesman of Iran, Ramin Mehmanparast, said that the deployment of Patriot missile batteries in Turkey is a “provocative” move and at odds with the interests of the countries in the region. The Iranian foreign ministry seems convinced that the deployment of these Patriot missiles in Turkey is the “root causes of instability and insecurity” in the region.

Of course, the Turkish leadership knows the Iranian position on the deployment of these Patriot missile batteries in Turkey and therefore the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has stressed again that the Patriot missiles are only for “defence” purposes, but considering the recent events and even the horrible war of NATO powers against Libya, nobody can be really convinced that this air-defence system is only for “defence” purposes.

It seems more logical that NATO and Turkey will use these Patriot missile batteries to establish a so-called “No-Fly Zone” in northern Syria and to further prepare the military invasion of this country in the Middle East, which would be contrary to the statement that these missile batteries are just for “defence” purposes.

In addition, the last hypocritical and staged steps of Western governments with the help of the dictatorships in Saudi Arabia and Qatar seem to prove that they are willing to enforce the horrible “Libyan scenario” on Syria or at least, are willing to try it again.

The staged “Syrian National Coalition” that does not represent the majority of the Syrian people but is recognized by more and more hypocritical governments as the sole representative of them; the Patriot missiles and the propaganda about the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government – it all fits to such a scenario that is already known – not only in terms of Libya.

The deployment of NATO’s Patriot missile batteries was not instrumental to the security and stability in the region and the deployment of missiles in Turkey is provocation and sure not “deterring” – not to mention that an attack of Turkey by Syria is certainly not imminent and it will just not happen. That`s a fact.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the Armed Forces of Iran, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, has meanwhile also said in an interview by Fars news agency on Saturday that the deployment of NATO’s Patriot missile batteries in the region “can pave way for world war” and this seems understandable and even, sadly, logical.

Iran`s Major General Hassan Firouzabadi said further that the Patriot missiles are the “defence line for the Zionists and a result of the West`s concern over Iran`s missiles and the Russian presence in order to defend Syria”.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian
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