Russia gives Assad firepower, spurring US strategy adjustment
- 9 years ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin has strongly reiterated his commitment to helping President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, along with a claim that without this the headlong flight of Syrian refugees would be worse.
Putin makes no secret of Russia’s recent deployment of men and materiel, in the face of growing alarm in Washington.
On a visit to Tadjikistan, he said: “We have supported the Syrian government as it confronts terrorist aggression. We have provided and will provide all the necessary military and technical support, and we call on other countries to join us.”
Officially, Russia’s presence in Syria is restricted to its Soviet-era Material-Technical Support Point in the seaport of Tartus, an Assad stronghold. Russia’s only base on the Mediterranean dates from the Cold War — 1971, when Assad’s father held power.
According to several sources, however, among them the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Russian engineers are extending runways at the airports of Hamimi
Putin makes no secret of Russia’s recent deployment of men and materiel, in the face of growing alarm in Washington.
On a visit to Tadjikistan, he said: “We have supported the Syrian government as it confronts terrorist aggression. We have provided and will provide all the necessary military and technical support, and we call on other countries to join us.”
Officially, Russia’s presence in Syria is restricted to its Soviet-era Material-Technical Support Point in the seaport of Tartus, an Assad stronghold. Russia’s only base on the Mediterranean dates from the Cold War — 1971, when Assad’s father held power.
According to several sources, however, among them the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Russian engineers are extending runways at the airports of Hamimi