Region | Syria
Syria, Iran warm to Russia as US tensions grow
Syria's President Bashar Al Assad has publicly stepped up his outreach to old ally Russia in recent days, seeking aid to build up Syrian military forces and offering Moscow help in return, in an apparent effort to exploit a new Russian-American rift.
- AP
- Published: 11:35 August 27, 2008
Beirut: Syria's President Bashar Al Assad has publicly stepped up his outreach to old ally Russia in recent days, seeking aid to build up Syrian military forces and offering Moscow help in return, in an apparent effort to exploit a new Russian-American rift.
US officials have noticed, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warning Mideast leaders this week that they should worry about Syria's efforts to gain more sophisticated weapons.
Syria's long-term aim, however, remains unclear, in part because Assad also continues to pursue peace efforts with Israel - a key US and European goal - even as he makes overtures to Russia that are sure to antagonise the West. Syria has a long history of apparently contradictory diplomatic moves as it manoeuvres to find options and balance its interests.
Yet the latest Syrian moves feed directly into larger Western fears that the Russian-American standoff - prompted by Russia's invasion of Georgia - could lead Russia to provide more military and diplomatic aid to a host of countries and militant groups the United States sees as troublesome.
"The Russian move into Georgia has begun a tectonic shift in the (Mideast) region," said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert in the United States. "It has emboldened Syria, Hezbollah and Iran to push harder against Israel and the US."
Some military officials in Iran have, like Syria, openly supported Russian actions in Georgia, although Iran's Foreign Ministry called the clashes merely a result of miscalculations by "powers" and called for dialogue.
Some Iranian media have gone further, asserting Russia is now less likely to back US-led efforts to pressure Iran to curb its nuclear programme.
The Russian ambassador to Iran, Alexander Sadovnikov, told the official IRNA news agency this weekend that Moscow won't support a new round of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran. But that position did not appear to be a direct result of the new Russia-US tensions, because Russia often calls publicly for dialogue.
IRNA quoted the ambassador as saying, "Russia is never after a new (sanctions) resolution. We hope constant contacts between Iran and the IAEA (the UN nuclear agency) will lead to a realistic solution, guaranteeing that Iran is not after nuclear weapons technology."
Share this article
Popular in News
News Editor's choice
-
King Tut's tomb set for project
Observers note strange brown spots marring lavish wall paintings
-
Thieves caught with Dh6m in gold
Twenty-five gold bars were stolen from the luggage of a Malaysian tradesman
-
What to expect at the Dubai Airshow
We preview what types of aircraft to expect at the Dubai Airshow
