Dear friends,
Just a quick update: as I predicted, the Syrian forces have retaken most of the strategically crucial town of Saraqib. Russia has confirmed that Russian military police units have already entered the town.
This crucial town was lost by the Syrians, largely due to the very effective use of attack drones by the Turks which the Syrians clearly did not anticipate. However, after an initial streak of painful losses, the Syrian air defenses, probably assisted by Russian experts, have now adapted and retaken the control of the airspace over Idlib and scores of Turkish drones have now been shot down.
By the way, there was a hilarious incident when the Turkish-backed Takfiris declared that they had shot down a Su-24. After it became clear that what they really shot down was a Turkish drone, the Takfiris declared that it was a Syrian or Russian drone. Problem: on the wreckage you can easily see Turkish markings :-)
In other news, it appears that there will be no four-way meeting in Istanbul, but that Erdogan will travel directly to Moscow to meet with Putin. Most observers believe that Erdogan is desperate and that he will beg Putin to agree to some kind of deal.
I hesitate to make predictions when mentally unstable characters like Erdogan are involved, but my best guess is that Russia will agree to some kind of deal, but that this deal with reflect the failure of the current Turkish military operation. Specifically, I believe that Saraqib shall be fully liberated and that the Turks will have to de facto relinquish control over the M4 highway (some kind of “jointly administered neutral zone” might be agreed upon to place a small face-saving figleaf over Erdogan’s pride). Finally, Russia will have to give security guarantees to the Turks, including a promise not to arm the Kurds (with whom the Russians have a complex and ambiguous relationship anyway).
Turkey does have the means to send in more forces into Idlib which, when combined with the various “good” and “bad” terrorist forces Turkey support could give the Turks a strong quantitative superiority over the Syrians. The Turks also have a qualitative advantage in some areas (as shown by their effective drone and F-16 attacks). But should Turkey decide to go on a major offensive, then you can expect the Russian task force in Syria to engage attacking Turkish aircraft (fix and rotary wing, and drones) and if that is not enough, you will see Russian cruise missiles do to the Turks what they did to the Takfiris in the early phases of the Russian intervention in Syria: decapitate their command and control, then turn to the supply routes.
The Syrian military has the advantage of experience and they know that when needed Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah forces will support them (as just happened in Saraqib). The big disadvantage of the Syrians is (and has been since the beginning of the war) their numerical inferiority. However, the Russians are providing both equipment and training to the Syrians, who apparently learned quickly and very well, and the newly reorganized Syrian units are much stronger than their Turkish counterparts.
Simply put, if the Turks try to move south, they will be countered not only by the Syrians, but also by the Russians, the Iranians, Hezbollah and even possibly the Kurds. 10 years ago such an operation would be a “maybe”. But in 2020 it is a “no way”.
Much now depends on what happens in Moscow on the 5th (next Thursday already).
I will try to take as much of the week off as I can (for religious and family reasons), but if something important happens in Moscow, I will try to analyze it here either on Thursday evening or on Friday.
Stay tuned.
Kind regards
The Saker
Saker, thank you for much-needed commentary.
With Turks, eternal dilemma: to trust (Erdogan) or not to trust (Erdogan).
Glad to hear Germany and France are excused from this meeting. Why bother?
Friend
Yes, an excellent update. As for the Turks, over here where I live there is an old saying: “Never trust a Turk”. I was wondering when Erdogan would apply the traditional Turkish stab in the back. Well, he did it in Idlib with his backing of ISIS terrorists, now fighting under different names. He thought he could play the East against the West and the West against the East, applying a colonial mentality. He also thought he would get NATO backing in Syria. He should have known better. For all of it’s anti-Russian dispositions, NATO certainly had no intention of getting involved in a conflict with Russia over Syria and in the process having to explain to it’s domestic populations why that conflict arose in the first place, especially not after Erdogan stated that the Turkish military was in Syria at the “invitation” of the Syrian people (!!!), and not at the invitation of President Assad, as if anybody was prepared to believe such an infantile statement.
As for the Syrian military, I am very pleased that they did so well in southern Idlib. As for northern Idlib, I was disapointed that they did not pay enough attention to Turkish drones after they initially liberated Saraqib, permitting the drones to cause them quite a bit of material damage. The Syrian troops in northern Idlib should have had adequate AA backup from the very star, including adequate artillery support.
As for Erdogan, he forgot who saved his head in 2016 during that coup attempt against him. Russia, who else. And how did he repay Russia for that ? Stab in the back in Idlib. Now he is running to President Putin in Moscow, begging for help, as he is certainly in a huge mess, militarillly, politically, socially and economically. The visit it’s self will reduce his esteem in Turkey, as most people will guess why he is going there. It’s questionable if he has a clear picture in his head what he should do, and no doubt this fact will, eventually, cause a backlash in Turkey, where people will want to see a new face in the Presidents Office.
BF, excellent comment. For those who might even consider believing that Turks can be trusted, I suggest watching Polish movie Ogniem i Mieczem (you can find it on youtube). The story is based on an excellent book and it happens sometime in 1649? Maybe. But the Turk’s behavior does not change. Poles have an expression about such behavior “chamstwo”. Translation is here https://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/chamstwo
but, while many other synonyms are to nice these are more adequate:
arogancja, grubiaństwo, impertynencja, prostactwo, prymitywizm
I don’t know that I’d choose a Polish historical novel as a basis for insight into the alleged Turkish national character, but Erdogan himself is a snake.
He reminds me of Trump, in that he thinks that doublecrossing everyone he comes into contact with is a sign of his own cleverness. It isn’t.
Rather, it means that everyone simply learns that he can never be trusted.
Snake, he is. During his meeting with the Bulgar Prime Minister he complained about scandalous (I am guessing this is what he said) behavior of the Greek soldiers who were shooting at his poor terrorists trying to cross the boarder with Greece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IhudGqh8zg
His speech at 0:19 and lies.
Never liked Erdogan. He always seemed like a pawn or puppet. But sometimes he speaks so much against Israel that maybe he fools people into thinking he is anti zionist? God knows best.
Question for more learned people.
Is it true or to what extent is it true that Erdogan believes that the Syrian Govt purposefully pushed terrorists and rebels towards turkeys borders. That instead of killing them, they let them escape towards turkeys border. And now the operations in Idlib will force the rebels to run away and cross into turkey and cause mayhem there. Erdogan believes That like Syria, they want terrorists to infiltrate turkey and start problems there. Is this true? And if so, then one can understand why he is acting like this and playing in the hands of NATO and the zionists. And if true, why did Russia and Syria let terrorists escape instead of eliminating them?
The DEZ of Idlib has been in “control” and “responsibility” of the Turks since September 2018, the Sochi agreement. They have done nothing to put down the fighting by al Nusra, though they pay them, medicate them, feed them, train them, arm them and now have fought alongside them.
Turkey has created its own problems.
Erdogan’s ideology is Muslim Brotherhood radical Islamic tyranny. His own nationalist dream is for the second coming of the Ottoman Empire.
He is a lousy General, a bad geopolitical power player, a really stupid Economist, and a treacherous partner who has no friends, aside from the Satanic Israelis at times, the worthless Qataris, and the refuse of AQ and ISIS.
He has alienated the EU with Syrian refugees unleashed, and is a NATO member in name only. They won’t fight with or for him, and he has stepped away from NATO by aligning with Russia and Iran and buying the S-400s.
Erdogan bet that Assad would be long gone by now. He lost that bet.
(He is also betting he can win in Libya. That is a worse bet than his Syria wager.)
Putin will slap him around and then give him written instructions to follow.They will call it a revised deal concerning Idlib. The original is virtually void anyway, made a footnote when Syria and Russia began the offensive to retake the province. Their patience ran out. Erdogan had done nothing. Now he finds his 18 observation posts are surrounded by Syrian forces. Putin will probably allow him to leave these, saving the Turkish soldiers from payback by Syrian and Hezbollah forces.
Idlib will be totally Syrian in the coming months. Erdogan may have a tiny sliver strip along the border, comparable to a “doggie run” where he can plant the flag of Turkey and Syrians can exercise their canines.
The border will be controlled by Syrians. Just as Putin said when he entered the war. The territory of Syria will be as it was in 2011.
The Syrian Express is in full swing, the ships coming down the Black Sea to the Med, bringing whatever the Russian Generals need to complete the operations in Syria. Planes are landing with more high tech weapons systems. Russia hasn’t backstepped an inch. Putin is all in. And sooner than later, Erdogan will be all out.
Reply to : Larchmonter445 on March 02, 2020 · at 3:28 pm EST/EDT
/quick-update-on-the-turkey-vs-syria-russia-and-iran/#comment-768325.
Vanessa Beeley in Syria’s Idlib province testifying to how embedded are the White Helmets within units of terrorist groups of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (هيئة تحرير الشام) formed on 28 January 2017 as a merger between Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra Front), the Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq, and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. Demonstrating that they ‘they only operate inside terrorist-held areas’, contrary to the MSM reporting …West of Aleppo, there are robustly modelled stone monuments lining the road commemmorating the White Helmets’ presence in the ‘luxuriant countryside’ there. Also video footage of Turkish troops in Turkey in daylight bombarding SAA, Hezbollah and Iranian postions and a brief clip of Syrian solldiers under a dusk or dawn attack from Turkish drones.
UK Column News – 2nd March 2020 https://www.ukcolumn.org/ukcolumn-news/uk-column-news-2nd-march-2020
UK Column News – 2nd March 2020: Vanessa Beeley live from Idlib https://youtu.be/GrY4FTFbv4w 3 060 vues •Diffusé en direct il y a 8 heures
UK Column 27,9 k abonnés Mike Robinson and David Scott are joined from Syria by Vanessa Beeley for today’s UK Column News.
START – Syria: Turkey’s Erdogan calls for meeting with Russia’s President Putin
8100 Turkish soldiers have illegally entered Syria’s Idlib province
Syrian Army has successfully defended itself against Turkish drone strikes
Syrian is perfectly entitled to defend its sovereign territory
Turkey and Israel are deliberately prolonging the Syrian conflict
MainStream Media still bombarding viewers & readers with white helmets worship…
White helmets only operate inside terrorist-held areas…
Nobody can exist within terrorist-held areas unless they are friendly with the terrorists
Food and medical supplies in white helmet areas supplied by Israel among others
22:14 – Britain in the Sahel along with France on behalf of UN
EC President Von Der Leyen: Africa is a place we need to be able to act as Europeans
Teflon Tony also very outspoken on the need to ‘help’ the Sahel…
Coincidentally, the Sahel has the fastest growing rate of Islamic insurgency
27:50 – MH17 Awaiting Trial event: 3 March, Conway Hall, London WC1
Britain commits to new nukes
Russia expects a response to Putin’s proposal to extend New Start without preconditions
US President Trump: arms control is a very smart thing for all involved
Commander US-European Command/NATO: I’m a fan of flexible first use policy…
Who is actually controlling the US Defense Department and US State Department…? Etc.
Who ever it is they better not get caught lying to the judge when that day arrives. Lest their offense turns into a perjury charge and all their secret documentation is useless and forever lost.
You imagine the judicial arm of the US Kleptocracy is separate from the rest of it? why?
Well because to some extent, judges are the last line of defense from this totally corrupted grade A disaster.
Otherwise absolutely everything would have been run over rough shot by now.
I’m from Brazil.
If the way to control a state in the 20 century was by military means, now in the 21 the way is the judicial system.
Everywhere
Well because to some extent, judges are the last line of defense from this totally corrupted grade A disaster.
Otherwise absolutely everything would have been run over rough shot by now.
I actually think Erdogan is amazingly good, and one of the Zionists’ most formidable opponents (hence the unbelievable demonization of Erdogan’s Turkey, well, at least in Germany).
“A tiny silver strip along the border.” Yes, that’s a possible compromise, if need be. But need it be? (i.e. this bloody war) What about the actual enemy of the Syrian people (the PKK / SDF / Usrael terrorists),occupying ;for Syria] far more important territories (water agriculture, oil)? Why not fight them [first]? And Turkey – which in my opinion is in Syria only to defend itself (against “Greater Kurdistan” / ISIS) – would then be willing to entirely withraw from Syria peacefully, nor would Turkey’s cooperation [and Alliance] with Russia / Iran be [partly] ruined.
Laika, maybe we could discuss a few things.
“I actually think Erdogan is amazingly good, and one of the Zionists’ most formidable opponents (hence the unbelievable demonization of Erdogan’s Turkey, well, at least in Germany). ”
I happen to live in Germany. Actually, the support for Erdogan from Turkish people in Germany is greater than in Turkey itself. There are quite some around here. Sometimes I even pity for them, because in Germany they are seen as Turks, whereas in Turkey when they go for family visit they are seen as Germans. Often you can’t even see it, I’ve met Turkish people here who speak accentless German and have piercing blue eyes like Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Are you sure Erdogan is such an anti-Zionist? He’s only interested in ‘power’ and dreams about being a caliph again. He sent a flottila to Gaza with his famous Mavi Marmara and get pounded by IDF special forces, but he also sells stolen Syrian oil to Israel via his terminals in Ceyhan.
Turkey is pounding down on Kurds, Armenians and the like. It’s maybe not so much as feeling threatened, but more as getting on top. They should obey. It’s not defensive, it’s more like the shameful scenes of Erdogans troops pounding down on anti-Erdogan protesters who were in the backyard of the White House when he visited there (Americans, you can be so proud of this – you did nothing).
Erdogan is visualizing to have his Ottoman empire back again. Unfortunately, he’s not the only one, quite some Turks think like that. Removing Erdogan will not solve it completely. Land, influence, and so much power. It hasn’t anything to do with ‘defending’. It’s about grabbing. Erdogan is a megalomaniac and untrustworthy ego imho. But history has developed.
Defending against ISIS? Erdogans own daughter runs hospitals for wounded ISIS warriors (when they are not treated gently in Israel).
Btw, I like your nickname ;-)
Cheers, Rob
I saw what you did there, Rob.
NCIS.
Erdogan certainly didn’t start the Syrian misadventure. That was done by the US, the UK, and the Outhouse of Saud. These three powers are Evil to the core. Erdogan is merely an opportunist scavenger, just like Poland. Greedy hyena masquerading as a Sultan, LOL.
Laika “What about the actual enemy of the Syrian people (the PKK / SDF / Usrael terrorists),occupying ;for Syria] far more important territories (water agriculture, oil)? Why not fight them [first]? ”
Why yes what about them? Always overlooked. Sitting on Syria’s needed resources with the Americans and Israel one either side… I would have thought and have always thought Syria needed to address this situation as most vital to it’s interests, but, apparently oil revenue for rebuilding, water, agriculture and electricity are not so much of an issue?
“Turkey – which in my opinion is in Syria only to defend itself (against “Greater Kurdistan” / ISIS) – would then be willing to entirely withraw from Syria peacefully, nor would Turkey’s cooperation [and Alliance] with Russia / Iran be [partly] ruined.”
I’m in agreement with that.. In fact Syria had it’s best option for diplomacy based on the agreements made and yet they tossed that diplomacy to the wayside? Weird?
btw: Syria has bused more terrorists toward idlib, according to some reports, why keep bringing them there ?
I doubt that Erdogan will even survive 2020. There is going to be a coup in Turkey and Erdogan will be over with, not having Russia or Iran help him this time!
Idlib will be totally Syrian in the coming months. Erdogan may have a tiny sliver strip along the border, comparable to a “doggie run” where he can plant the flag of Turkey and Syrians can exercise their canines.
Outstanding Sir. LOL
My Turkish friend Gurcan Aral told me many years ago (during the Gaza flotilla attack) to look at what Erdogan does, not at what it says. It may howl and growl against the zionist entity, but at no point did it stop trading with zionistan or stop zionistanis from holidaying in Turkey. Its anti zionist stance is a sham.
Correct! Turkey is a joker outfit. Everyone knows.
he like sisi of egypt is a khazar ashkanazim non semite just like all his turkick russio steppe pals in tel aviv
@Ahson & charles
Please do not post nonsense like this on this blog
Thank you
The Saker
Correct. Turkish trade with Israel actually increased.
Thank you Saker, your take on this is much appreciated.
The enemy is the NWO and its major project “Greater Kurdistan, ” (Israel 2.0). Destroying traditional Islam, and establishing “Greater Kurdistan” was the main reason the 9/11 false flag “war on terror” was launched.
Erdogan’s (increasingly sovereign) Turkey, along with Putin’s Russia, principlist Iran, and especially China are the most formidable opponents of Israel’s NWO.
The CIA / NWO’s PKK terrorists have for decades terrorized Turkey. How come Assad”s Syria was and is almost allied to them?
These PKK terrorists, whose job is to establish “Greater Kurdistan,” (and the latter is a direct threat to Turkey’s Hatay provence) are still in and around Aleppo.
So, if only for that reason, is it any wonder that Turkey doesn’t want to withdraw from Idlib as long as these terrorists are there? Besides, isn’t it far more important for Syria to liberate its also PKK / SDF / Usrael occupied oil fields than to start a needless bloody war on Idlib, which can also be gradually pacified by Russia / Turkey?
I don’t entirely understand, but it seems to me Assad went rogue on Putin, and I get the impession that the NWO and its worldwide media (and Russia’s 5th column) is pressuring Putin to (somewhat) go along with this major (Israel 2.0) project.
@ Laika von old Monkshusen,
Yes – you see the big picture. There was at least one commenter on here a while ago who explained it all in some detail.
There is a very big conflict going on between major ideological powers and very long term projects intended to reshape the region (and later the World) which is flying well over the heads of the vast majority of people.
I have noticed a few people commenting on this blog and others who are now getting tired of the Ergogan the Sultan or Neo-Ottoman type of commentaries which fail to grasp the enourmous scale and complexity of the geopolitical great game on the grand chessbord taking place in full view, yet beyond the comprehension of most.
I also find it interesting that the drones and F16’s used by Turkey in recent highly succesful attacks (from a military perspective) against Syrian equipment follow well known CIA flight and target designation protocols.
Indeed, so successful and so well excuted, and so “CIA” were the attacks on Syrian forces that people could be forgiven for thinking the Turkish drones were actually flown by the same CIA crew who fly military ops in Afghanistan and Iraq…………………..
Also missed by analyists was the very intelligent use of the “clear and retreat” tactic by the Syrians (under Russian or Iranian guidance I presume). This involves clearing a planned kill-zone of civillians then feining a retreat, simply to draw the enemy into a free-fire kill zone to be wiped out en-mass by heavy weapons and pre-planted traps (or any other method as there was no other concerns to protect civillians who are no longer present). We saw this in the “loss” of Saraquib, followed by the decimation of the hard-core Jihadis and cannon fodder alike who rushed in to the kill zones prepared for them.
Also missed by analyists was the use of “tagged” manpads. It should be noted that manpads only get issued to fully trained (and therefore valuable pet terrorists or mercenaries) who operate in professional and protected units. There location is tracked and when used (ie when a valuable target is operating them) their position can immediately be hit. If it is deemed to high risk to wait – such as when US and British mercs have these weapons, then spec-ops take them down in transit (as seen in recent footage released by Russia showing thier spec ops take down elite mercs using high-calibre rifles and automatic grenade launchers).
In the old days nice rifles and weapons would be spiked or booby trapped, these days are tagged with GPS trackers and other active or passive electronic means to allow the rats to take the poison back to thier nest – and be taken down then or at a location the hunter chooses.
People who ignore or simply overlook the CIA fingerprints on Syria, and the grand plans for Russia and Iran created before Sykes and Picot got together (and to be enabled through the creation of greater kurdistan and greater israel) will be doomed to follow the seemingly bizzare actions of leaders such as Erdogan and Putin without any real idea of the much bigger game being played.
Tired ” have noticed a few people commenting on this blog and others who are now getting tired of the Ergogan the Sultan or Neo-Ottoman type of commentaries which fail to grasp the enourmous scale and complexity of the geopolitical great game on the grand chessbord taking place in full view, yet beyond the comprehension of most.”
Hi Tired, I’ve long grown tired, exhausted and bored with this type of perception managing rhetoric. And have long moved past the belief that this is unwitting. Considering all that has gone on, right in front of us all, only wilful blindness explains this.
And your concluding paragraph
“People who ignore or simply overlook the CIA fingerprints on Syria, and the grand plans for Russia and Iran created before Sykes and Picot got together (and to be enabled through the creation of greater kurdistan and greater israel) will be doomed to follow the seemingly bizzare actions of leaders such as Erdogan and Putin without any real idea of the much bigger game being played.”
Very good. Thanks.
Erdogan is showing the ambition of a Xerxes, the fanaticism of an old 19th century Sultan and further the treacherous mind of an Ischariot.
The Ischariot thing os his personality is known by everyone around: the iranians, the greek, the Russians, Cretans and Syrians.
I don t know how the EU 30 yrs ago could lure and promise them any membership
In point of fact, Erdoğan’s ambition can be traded to his hero Yavus Sultan Selim who was responsible for conquering the most territory for the Ottoman’s after Fatih took Constantinople and made it Istanbul. Erdoğan has even had the third Bosphorus bridge named after him.
Erdoğan is also an avowed admirer of Hitler, whose bluff and threat technique he attempts to imitate. It kind of backfired for Hitler, when the Britain, et. al. manuvered him into attacking the USSR. Similarly, the US has outwaited Erdoğan, and finally got him to provide Turkish canon fodder in an attack against Syria. Erdoğan impatient, vainly hoped that NATO and the US would come to his aid militarily, rather than provide forces at tthe beginning of the attack as Erdoğan originally desired. Unfortunately, for him, that was never the US’s intent. The US wants Assad gone, or chaos to continue, but does not want a quagmire involving US troops. A quagmire for Turkish troops? Sure why not?
So Erdoğan has fallen into the US trap, and now to keep the quagmire wet and muddy, the US will supply Turkey with weapons and amunition. Erdoğan’s only hope is that he develops enough temporary sanity to accept whatever out Putin offers. Too much struggling and he’ll just sink deeper and deeper into the mud.
Laika: “The enemy is the NWO and its major project “Greater Kurdistan, ” (Israel 2.0). Destroying traditional Islam, and establishing “Greater Kurdistan” was the main reason the 9/11 false flag “war on terror” was launched.”
Benefiting Israel immensely. The Kurds being Sunni Muslim and quite fanatical, similar to their Saudi counterparts.
“The CIA / NWO’s PKK terrorists have for decades terrorized Turkey. How come Assad”s Syria was and is almost allied to them?’
I’ve long felt the PKK have function as a ‘stay behind’ army/NATO Gladio… Keeping Turkey in check.
I would send elite Chechen specnaz fighters there, as I heard there are
30.000 of them.
I recon they can push takfiris back to Turkey in a week. Kadirov soldiers could also liberate Hatay cuz Turks would be runing ironman trail towards Ankara.
Its waste of power not to use them, go and earn some medals comrades!
”By the way, there was a hilarious incident when the Turkish-backed Takfiris declared that they had shot down a Su-24. After it became clear that what they really shot down was a Turkish drone, the Takfiris declared that it was a Syrian or Russian drone. Problem: on the wreckage you can easily see Turkish markings :-).”
Let the MSM continue thus:
’The Assad Regime and Russia/Moscow/The Kremlin/Putin painted the drones with these Turkish markings. The freedom fighters were not fooled and promptly shot down Assad’s and Putin’s devices of mass murder in Idlib’.
Hillary is in the news! Would love to be able to sing “Ding, dong the Witch is dead….”, but await the predictable fizzle.
What does anyone really think happened in Benghazi?
I suspect team Syria tried to pinch Stevens and expose the illegal arming of anti Assad mercenaries. TsRU burnt it all down to get rid of the evidence.
A blessed Lent to you, Saker. I just had my beans with lettuce for the first day of the week.
Thank you! Same to you!
Kind regards
The Saker
I do not see the point of Russia giving the Ottomans a “fig leaf”. Sultan Erdogan has repeatedly proved that it cannot be trusted. Eliminating the Ottoman “observation posts” in Syria should be the first task; the Ottoman war criminals surrounded in them are incapable of defending themselves and can be simply ordered to walk out with white flags and into PoW cages. This alone will go a long way to ensuring the total discrediting of Erdogan and its eventual overthrow. Such an overthrow is only a matter of time: Erdogan has alienated everyone except al Qaeda, and nobody but al Qaeda will be sorry at its political or literal demise. I do not see why Russia should protect al Qaeda’s biggest benefactor from elimination. Russia should not have protected it from being couped the last time around.
I do not see the point of Russia giving the Ottomans a “fig leaf”.
There are two actually.
1) The Dardanelles and the Bosporus. Russia has the right by treaty to navigate from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, but it is better to have friendly relations with the nation that controls these waterways.
2) Everything from Syria to Iran and northwards to Russia is within Russia’s sphere of influence, and it is much better for all nations to be on friendly terms and working for the same goal, namely peace and prosperity in a multipolar world.
Thanks for the sane input!
Well spoken James.
If only Erdogan would learn lessons from Putin on how be a leader and a statesman.
Surprising for most Iranians is this stupid ass turkish sultan fiddling around with jihadist fantasies? How strange? Zia ul Haq of pindostan tried this in the 80’s AfPak only to end up dead with his entire coterie. In a flash he was gone, like the fool he was. This Er-Dog-An is no different……..just stupid sunni muslims trying out wahabbi takfiri or muslim brotherhood propaganda ideologies. What they fail to realize is that behind militant Sunni islam, sits the CIA, MIT, ISI and the Mossad. How has playing second fiddle to the empire served these fools in turkey or pakistan? Both turkey and pakistan are the true losers of the great geo-political game. Both got shafted, and there ain’t no way out.
Ahson very astute observations. Zia up Haq was a ghoulish Erdogan-like snake that got sent straight to hell along with his high command in bombing incident. No one has figured out who planted the bomb on the military transport plane he, his high command, 2 US General’s, the us ambassador etc were on. Do you have any ideas? I think it would have been Soviet intelligence that did, but I have no proof.
Also, what exactly is pindostan? What does that word mean?
“Also, what exactly is pindostan?”
It is the country where the pindo bean was invented.
“What does that word mean?”
People of the pindo bean.
“Stan” is a suffix meaning “land (of)”.
“Pindo” is derogatory slang for American troops.
Pindostan, aka The United Pindos of America!
;-)
@NoPeinInTheSky……I have been harsh here and there and the Saker caught me out on it in terms of losing civility, however, for us sunni muslims, the worst is that we don’t have leadership. Sunni Islam is seriously up shit creek. It is painful to admit this, but for us fools, leaders like Imran Khan or Gen Bajwa or Gen Sissi or MBS or Erdogan are an absolute disgrace! they are all appointed by the agency…..There is nothing there whatsoever. Just shame and horror. Its not good.
Mr Erdogan today faces the same predicament as Gen Zia did in the 80’s playing the imperial toady against the USSR. All we can do is lament at the situation while entire countries are destroyed and millions killed. What a shame for us. I don’t know how else to say it, but the truth stares us in the face. The future seriously does not bode well for the Sunni muslim world. It’s well and truly a leadership crises. Lets hope Russia/ China/ Iran have mercy on these beleaguered turks, or else they too are headed for a failed state status, much like Pakistan is today.
@ Ahson
…. ” ….worst is that we dont have leadership … ” …
Yes.
That is result of old imperial policy : ” divide et impera ” .
Divide christians and muslims and lead them into religious wars , religious killings.
So old fox known as MI 6 :
Created saudi kingdom. Ruling familly are jews in origin.
Created state of israel , to organize wars and divide et impera situations.
Created pakistan , to divide india and pakistan , and to set up situations for war.
Many leaders in middle east are jews in origin ,
just pretending to be arabs , muslims. Cripto_jews hiding behind other nation.
So , if one analise present irrational erdogan involvement in idlib war , not any move in favour of turks, on contrary , great damage to turkey. But good development for israel. Let arranged wars weaken others , and as consequence israel is safer.
… ” they are all appoimted by agency … ” …
Yes.
MI 6.
Fox agency among chikens. Divide et impera.
Really high quality, succinct analysis of the current situation.
“By the way, there was a hilarious incident when the Turkish-backed Takfiris declared that they had shot down a Su-24. After it became clear that what they really shot down was a Turkish drone, the Takfiris declared that it was a Syrian or Russian drone. Problem: on the wreckage you can easily see Turkish markings :-)”
Haha and that might be the sanest thing a group of wahhabis have ever done. Its all downhill after being introduced to, and accepting the teachings of Muhammad ibn abdul wahhab.
On the subject of turks. From the bunch that i have met, i assumed nationalism is a huge part of the modern Turkish landscape. Their politicians can talk about islam all they like, but to them islam is secondary. Of couse this isnt true for all turks, just a good portion. They are more akin to certain sectors of the ultra nationalist Europeans. You pair that with the history of the imperial ottomans and it creates an extremely toxic mindset. In my highschool days, my friends and i used to have a joke about turks. That during the fast in the month of Ramadan, the turks break their fast with a shot of alcohol. Lol the joke being they fulfill the islamic fast but in a unislamic manner. The Albanians are also very similar to the turks, one of my Albanian friend confirmed sone of the extremely toxic aspects of Albanian culture. Saying all that let’s not judge all turks and albanians, as i have met quite a few great ones.
here is a fantastic music video of the Syrian war – 10 minutes – very stimulating for me to watch
https://youtu.be/QbEBFXjA7yE
Think you are dead wrong on this one. Russia will only retaliate if they are directly hit. Directly attack turkey? No way – with cruise missiles? Sorry, this is so outlandish that I think you are wrong on this one. Russia should had thought beforehand who it’s partnering with, than such idiotic projects like the atomic station for 16B$ wouldn’t have been started (financing that shit, even without making a shekel for decades – dumb! – Jewgeni Satanowski aka Armageddonovich said it best on a recent tv show with Dimitri Kulikov). turkey was and is Russia’s’ enemy (16 wars, turks helped terrorists in Chechnya!). Selling gas – ok, some military hardware – ok, but long term infrastructure projects etc. – idiotic idea!
Iran helping? What a joke, they already let the turks know, that this is Russia’s and turkey’s problem.
Its fine to disagree, but misdirection is not so fine. Let’s look at your last paragraph: “Iran helping? What a joke, they already let the turks know, that this is Russia’s and turkey’s problem.”
The latest here is that Iran and Hezbollah have warned Turkey that the Turkish observation posts were under clear observation and direct fire could easily follow in one statement and in another later one direct from Iranian military advisory center in Syria: “We assert to the Turkish nation that their sons have been within our range for a month now, and we could have taken revenge, but refrained from doing so on the orders of our commanders.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/03/02/619948/Iran-Syria-Turkey-Idlib
It’s $25B and keep in mind, they don’t have to finish the reactor, and I don’t think Turkey will be building its own RPV or control system anytime soon. If things got serious, before any military action, Russia could remove all its citizens from Turkey, in particular the tourists, halt work on the Akkuyu station, halt work on the S-400 (have they even delivered the missiles yet?), block all exports of Turkish goods, turn off the Turkstream pipeline, and the Bluestream pipeline. Turkey would probably close the Bosphorous then, so not all good.
Interesting take from Thierry Meyssan at Voltairenet : https://www.voltairenet.org/article209362.html
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be an English translation (German, Italian, etc, are available though).
Basically, all this circus (Turks vs Russians vs Syrians) is actually the Turks crying for help because they strongly fear that Turkey will be the next country to be “dissected” after Syria by the hegemon (*). So they try hard to divert the “eye of Sauron” toward Libya, and the threat of releasing the refugee gate is (according to Meyssan) a way to tell the EU: help us keep our integrity as a country or the millions of refugees we currently hold will invade you without any possibility for us to prevent that from happening).
Whether they are right to believe so is up to debate, but the way they are “crying for help” is completely lost on the MSM. Meyssan is particularly harsh in his critics against the French national newspaper Le Monde (to be frank, he is not harsh enough). In any case, his comments on the whole picture should not be easily discarded.
(*) This is failing spectacularly thanks to the resistance forces!
Aegir,
At Voltairenet.org, Meyssan’s website, at the top of the banner are Languages you can select, including English. Also, get Yandex Browser and any website will be translated automatically for you as you browse.
Since the fall of the Ottoman empire Turkey has been totally controlled by “outside” powers. The Turkish government was secular and Islam was suppressed.
The Turkish army was rabidly anti Islamic. Only in 2013 Mrs Erdogan was denied entry to a military hospital because she wore a scarf!
So Erdogan has had to tread very carefully to slowly roll back rabid secularism and re introduce Islamic values for his people.
In my view his biggest mistake was to fall out with Assad and back the FSA at the request of “outside powers”.
Clear, incisive and thoughtful, as usual!
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-shoots-down-another-turkish-drone-air-defenses-target-f-16/
Syria has moved more advanced military equipment into Idlib province to be able to defend against Turkish invasions in their airspace. Now it is reported that a S-200 SAM system has countered a F-16 attack against Syria. Syria also shot down another turkish drone. So Erdogan has to realize there is only one way out of this, but there are options to get there which all means exit Syria, and better sooner than later.
The Sakers analysis is extremely well done :
>I hesitate to make predictions when mentally unstable characters like Erdogan are involved
In this current climate of misinformation and misdirection hysteria in the western press (I include the alt-right ‘truth’ media), this characterization of Erdogan at least is something we should be able to agree with. He should pack his bags and retire because going forward, comparing what he has agreed to do with what he has done, he can no longer be trusted by anybody. The serpent of Eden comes to mind. They have been strung along and rejected by the E.U. for years. The U.S. has sanctioned and threatened them more than once to destroy their economy. It seems a no brainer to me what they should do. Turkey has a potentially great future in the Belt and Road and also trade with Russia, their near neighbour. Their sovereignty would be respected. They would have peace. Yet what do they do? The serpent goes to Ukraine and makes rather unfriendly remarks toward Russia and they appear to be working for the American beast against Russia and Syria. I’m surprised Shoigu has not called his Turk counterpart, on the side of course, to explain that they should be able to have peaceful relations but Erdogan is out of control and leading to war. Maybe they can reel him in?
Most of the reports I read about what is going on between Syria and the Turks seem much like the hype I hear about China regarding coronavirus. It just sounds like lying propaganda to place the Chinese leadership and the Syrian Arab Army in the worst possible light.
One thing I am certain of is the U.S. beast will continue to do what it always does until the misery they have inflicted on so many other countries starts to happen in their own cities. Maybe then they will see.
S, excellent note. I always wonder about Syrian army, and this is why they are in 9th year of war. What they lack is the ability to learn from Russians how to fight. The seem to go one step forward and few back, the fact that I suspect irritates the hell out of Russians.
And there are two major upgrades for SAA required:
1. Unified uniforms ( to avoid “friend or foe” )
2. Compulsory Helmets.
3. Storm troopers wear body armour
The losses would be cut by 1/3.
Ignorance !!!
I think an Iranian missile attack on Idlib is more proable than a confrontation between Turkey and Russia. Iran already warned Turkey that it could saturate Idlib with its missiles. Turkey struck the Hezbollah/IRGC command post on purpose and drew Lebanese, Pakistani, Afghan and Iranian blood. Hezbollah has a policy of an eye for an eye. Israel is watching how Hebollah reacts and draws its conclusions.
If Iran wants, it could provide its own air defense independent from the Russians to its proxies in Syria to counter Russian political motivated moves of withdrawing or giving its support. The advantage the Russians have in Syria is its integrated air defense network. Iran cant provide that.
The whole point of the Russian involvement was to moderate the Turkish/ Sawdi/ Qatari involvement. Sure Iran could help Syria alone at considerable more expense, but the Syrian conflict had also taken a sectarian turn for the worst. It was being advertised as such with the takfiri hordes battling the ‘Shia kuffar’ and ‘Islam vs the Rafidhi’. Without Russian involvement, thousands more Iranian lives would have been lost. Putin had to intervene. Now there are news reports of China contemplating selling air defenses to Syria also. There are 50,000 imported ETM Uighur terrorists in Idlib, which China won’t take back, and Erdogan has vowed to give them Idlib and settle them there. This cannot be allowed by Russia/ China/ Iran.
Sell? Why not donate? China has done remarkable little, that is to say nothing, to support Syria (and their ‘strategic ally’, Russia).
Does anybody know if Removed. Mod. (suspended) has set up a different profile on twitter? I’ve been reading his stuff on Syria for about 2 years, I think it was from Павел/Paul here that I heard about him.
@Ralph. He has moved to VK.
“Lots of Truther folks there: Eva, Mimi, Sarah Abdallah, PEPE, Elijah..
https://vk.com/club192588756
its harder to use than twitter.. ”
This conversation is off-topic and breaks moderation policy, Please take your chat to the MFC. Mod.
Interesting news from SKAI in Greece today 2020-03-03:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx8Wgp2Dyl4
Politics is not going anywhere. Putin says okay to the meeting with Erdo, but does not stop supporting Asad and his forces continue hitting Turks. High possibility of direct confrontaion.
Erdo as usual uses double speak. He threatens Syria to cut their heads off, but is mild towards Russia. Moskva says will defend the cause. Syria is making good progress.
BTW, it took Turks 4 hours to travel 80km to pick up the wounded and the dead, and return back to Turkey.
Nobody says how many casualties.
Otherwise, Erdo is sending wave after wave of the “terrorists” who amazingly enough speak very fluent Turk.
I have one more commentary by Greek retired colonel, who is a specialist on Turky. Kalenteridis is also fluent in Turk, says that the numbers of 33 dead, and 40 wounded are much lower than the real ones, but he admitted not to allowed to say the real numbers of Turkish casualties. He also say, that Erdo has sent 10,000 Turkish soldiers to Syria, which is practically an invasion, stupid on Erdo’s behalf as he can not provide these men with any air support. Erdo’s situation is getting worse by the minute and this is why he is applying pressure on EE to help him pressure Russia to stop the action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4m9h2Pr5mc
On the other hand Haftar is getting big support from his Arab friends against Turkey, so Erdo is in hot water as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-UtGj04v-s
I see that the United States is pouring gasoline on that particular fire, promising resupply of munitions to the Turks (and by extension, their Vetted Moderate Headchopper(R) friends).
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has publicly stated his army entered Syria in order to end the reign of Syrian President, Al-Assad, and bring justice to Syrians. This confirms his intent to destroy the Syrian Arab Army which is a precondition to topple the Assad government. Erdogan knew that Assad would in time with Russian help endeavour to eliminate all terrorist occupation of Idlib and that the constant attacks of Jihadists across the deconfliction zone would initiate a SAA reaction.
The US and NATO plans to reconfigure the Middle East bestowed upon Turkey an expansionist role along with providing logistical and military support to US proxies to wage aggressive war on Syria. Indeed Erdogan continues to justify his aggression against Syria with the West’s dishonest claim of humanitarian intervention to save the Syrian people. Much like its treatment of the Kurds the US is now disavowing Turkey (with exception of verbal support) but to what end since it continues to occupy parts of Syria and obstruct reconciliation?
Erdogan’s nonsense is not what I would call impressive. He is reading from the same script as his handlers. However, I wouldn’t put it past him to sincerely believe these inanities with himself as Hero of Syria. After all, unlike the Pindos, he can put Syria on the map — that’s a start.
USA supplying itelligence and says will supply ammunition to Turkey. Various peoples from there visiting Idlib today..
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003031078464155-us-intends-to-support-turkeys-actions-in-syrias-idlib-by-supplying-ammunition—report/
‘Ammunition’ ? That really is comical. Like Turkey is short of a few bullets, and that is their whole problem. If they were talking about drones or planes, maybe that would matter … not going to happen. Trump would be out of his mind to do something like that during the election cycle (he is pretty stupid though).
Idlib is an issue that will not go away even if SAA takes the whole of it. It is too important a part of trade and making Syria whole again. SAA will expand much resources keeping it once retaken because the West will consistently work to prevent Syrian stability. Just as US will continue to hold oil producing areas to prevent revenue for reconstruction.
The only way to stop this is to cut the head off the beast before losing a war of attrition. That first means a big change in rules of engagement relating to Israel. Any strike by Israeli’s on Syrian territory needs to be met with an equal retaliatory strike on Israeli territory. Maybe you can’t hit their planes, but you can hit the base they came from or similar strategic target.
If you are unwilling to strike back at your true enemy, you are assured you will eventually lose. That is the realistic truth for Syria and I think they know it. At some point they have to go all-in and they have to do it while they still have enough strength to stand a chance of giving Israel a black eye. Satanyaho won reelection, he is not going anywhere, it will not stop. There is no political solution as long as there is an open supply line for Hezbollah. Either Syria closes supply line for Hezbollah (who has helped them greatly survive the war to this point) or they change the rules of engagement and start striking back inside Israeli territory. This is the reality and proof of this is Al Tanf which exists purely waiting for the day this happens so that US can push straight up from there through Palmyra then father north to cut Syria in 2 halves.
“Maybe you can’t hit their planes, but you can hit the base they came from …”
Aircraft don’t move much while on the ground. And aircraft can’t fly indefinitely. That is a weakness in the strategy of any state that depends on air power and is within (modern) missile range of one that it is attacking.
The question is whether that escalation is judged to be favorable and necessary. At this time, considering the objectives of the states involved, apparently neither. BTW, the Saker has previously expressed a rational opinion on this.
44360
“The question is whether that escalation is judged to be favorable and necessary. At this time, considering the objectives of the states involved, apparently neither. BTW, the Saker has previously expressed a rational opinion on this.”
Agree, the israeli provocations are to inflate a wider war situation in which israel’s trump quisling can get directly involved using u.s. forces to expand israel’s greater israel project at Syria’s expense.
.
Over the last 48 months, Erdogan has made Netanyahu look Rational
.
Why is the Syrian Army undermanned? Syria is not a huge country but it has a population of 19 million (including the Kurds of course).
The war has been going nearly 9 years and many have died. By some accounts over 70,000 Syrian soldiers have died and you can multiply by 5 to 10 for wounded.
Secondly the whole country was a jihadist insurgency of mostly foreign Takfiri fundamentalists paid for and armed by Saudis, Qatari and Turkish governments and CIA as well as aided by Israel. When areas are liberated they need to be held secure by locals in government militias set up to protect their towns and suburbs.
The terrorist Turks have shot down another Syrian warplane.
Just like the Americans, Turkey will continue to engage in these kinds of brazen acts of aggression until it is made to feel some pain.
Syrian Warplane Shot Down by Turkish Air Force, Northwest of Ma’aret al-Nu’aman
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2020/03/03/syrian-warplane-shot-down-by-turkish-air-force-northwest-of-maaret-al-nuaman/
Seems odd that Erdogan has attacked Hezbollah in Idlib,and that will force them to come and fight near the Syrian/Turkish border.
Is this really a ploy to pull Hezbollah away from Israel border towns??
Seems to me that if Israel can get Erdogan to get all their enemy’s concentrated in one place far from Israel is a major win for Netanyahu.
…
Can somebody speculate that once the fight is on or near the border, why shouldn’t they enter Turkey?? You all know payback is a bitch. Why should Erdogan get a slice of Syria as a prize? Why shouldn’t he lose Turkish territory? Or would NATO come to his aid if somebody invaded ‘Turkey’?
It is very good to have your word on what is happening there. So much of the news elsewhere makes it sound like America is on its way to help Turkey destroy Assad, which I suppose is wishful thinking by the western media elite.
Russian MoD: Terrorists Attempted to Carry Out Chemical Attack Amid Syrian Army Gains
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003041078472673-russian-military-says-terrorists-attempted-to-carry-out-chemical-attack-in-idlib/
“On 2 March, a group of up to 15 terrorists attempted to detonate explosive ammunition together with containers full of a poisonous chemical agent. The terrorists aimed to impede the advance of Syrian government forces in the western part of Saraqib city and then accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons”, the statement reads.
The terrorists accidentally unsealed one of the containers, which resulted in a leak. Terrorists received “significant chemical poisoning” and failed to carry out the attack, the centre said.
The Russian military said they would soon publish the evidence on the failed chemical attack.
Earlier in the day, the Reconciliation Centre stated that the White Helmets had finished filming a staged provocation after delivering 400 litres of a chemical agent to the site.
The reports come days after units of the Russian military police were deployed to the Idlib’s city of Saraqib to ensure security amid escalated tensions in the region.”
Hahahaha. I suppose, Skripal was around as an advisor?
Speaking of burning, since they seem to love playing with fire, zionazi-gay-takfiri’s will soon have an opportunity to experience a brand new TOS-2 ‘Tosochka’ heavy flamethrower.
Assad Calls Differences With Ankara ‘Illogical’: Syrian People Have Not Been Hostile Toward Turkish
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003041078474162-assad-calls-differences-with-ankara-illogical-syria-has-not-been-hostile-toward-turkey/
“Syrian President Bashar Assad stated that the feud between his and Turkey is “illogical”, stressing that Damascus had not attacked Turkey and that both states have common interests.
“What hostile action – big or small – did the Syrian people commit against the Turkish people? There is no such thing. There are Syrian-Turkish marriages, there are families, there are vital common interests. This mutual cultural interaction is historically determined, it is illogical that we have some serious disagreement between our countries”, Assad told the Russia-24 TV channel in an interview.
Syria’s president continued by saying that he considered the Turkish people to be a brotherly nation for the Syrians.
“Of course, we’re speaking about the Turkish people as a brotherly nation. I’m asking the Turkish people, what’s your problem with Syria? What’s the problem that Turkish citizens should die for?” Assad asked.
The interview was broadcast the day before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which is expected to take place in Moscow.”
What the hell were these morons actually trying to do :-? … Seems now all the SAA got to do is leisurely sit back and watch the imbeciles self-destruct :-)
Intertfax, 4 March 2020, updated at 17:21, https://www.interfax.ru/world/697727 :
Militants in Idlib tried to use chemical weapons, but poisoned themselves
Moscow. March 4. INTERFAX.RU – The Russian military stated to have evidence of the attempts of the rebels to use chemical weapons in Idlib, in order to stop the advance of the Syrian army in the town of Saraqib.
“In the night of 2 March, a group of up to 15 terrorists tried to explode ammunition next to containers filled with toxic chemicals”, – reads the statement of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria.
“Due to the lack of necessary experience and skills, the terrorists have violated the integrity of one of the containers, allowing leakage of the substances among themselves. As the result of the incident, the terrorists received severe chemical poisoning, and were not able to use the ammunition and implement a provocation”, – reads the statement in possession of “Interfax”
They may try again of course…..
If they do just goes to show the level of quality among the terrorist, these are not the sharpest tools in the shed.
Assad on future plans.
Syrian Army to Focus on Clearing Eastern Areas of Militants After Liberating Idlib – Assad
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003041078475519-syrian-army-to-focus-on-clearing-eastern-areas-of-militants/
“Idlib is the key task now, from the military point of view. Obviously, [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan has hurled all effort into it following an order by the Americans, there is no doubt in it, since after liberating Idlib we will focus on liberating the eastern regions. I have repeatedly said that Idlib is the main outpost, and they have made every effort to prevent its liberation so that we could not move to the east”, Assad said.
“However, we maintain contact with people living in the eastern regions. They are displeased and anxious over the US occupation”, the Syrian president added.”
Pres. Erdogan is under orders from USA according to members of the Turkish parliament. The goal is to keep the occupation of Syria by mercenary forces going forever, and if opportunity arises, install the proxy government that they had planned to partition Syria and hand over Golan and Quneitra over to Israel.
ISIL is still operating in Quneitra among other mercenary terrorists of the USA coalition.
So while now the fighting is going on in the western Idlib province, the USA has been busy occupying more of the eastern and northeastern part of Syria along with their proxy SDF to keep the war and occupation going inside Syria. Acting on intelligence the kurdish YPG and others starting to have progress fighting ISIL was when USA stepped in to create division by mainly supporting the arab part of the kurdish fighters with weapons and other support to create SDF, and let them get intrenched in a long and exhaustive war against ISIL in Raqqa.
The kurds were very succesfull in fighting ISIL.
USA make sure that all groups fight each other.
Now Erdogan putting all his hyped up emperors coat on the line invaded Syria to keep the fight going even more.
So this is the background from which some members of the Turkish parliament has understood the game pretty well and accuses Erdogan: “Are you looking for Satan? You are the Satan cutting deals with the U.S. (for Idlib) You sent our soldiers to die for this.” People’s Republican MP Engin Özkoç
Fist fight broke out in the Turkish parliament. (almasdarnews.com)
We have a situation here which many do not seem to appreciate. Syria is not experiencing a revolution or a civil war. It has been invaded by a regular army out of uniform , the Turks are in uniform, and the Nato troops there as well, but mainly the fighting has been done by the irregular regulars. They have been supplied, transported, supported, financed, medically treated, by western countries. The whole thing was carefully planned and implemented. They have heavy weapons and logistics just like a regular army and they are well trained and disciplined and fanatical. the Turks have also supplied air support in addition to that sporadically provided by the west.
Russia has provided as little support as they need to to frustrate the aims of the invaders, especially in the case of anti aircraft defences.
They fact that Russian support has nevertheless been very substantial is due to the fact that the invaders have very substantial resources and Russia had no option.
Putin just wants everyone to live in peace and get along and negotiate the way forward in peace.
The Russians keep pursuing this admirable and reasonable and correct win-win proposal. But some do not want that. Putin must realize that but he keeps pushing it, with predictable results, periodic setbacks interspersed with brutal fighting and hard fought victories, but no end in sight.
The fact is Syria, with limited but very effective Russian support, is up against Nato aggression. Forget about terrorists, these are regular soldiers out of uniform.
This is a war in every way. Possibly the first shots in World War 3. This not going away, it is intensifying. Nato, represented by Turkey is overtly participating.
What can be done?
The ambassadors of peace shall weep. Isa 33:7. Lavrov and Putin have done the best anyone can do.
Nation shall lift up sword against nation.Who said that?