Lyuba Lulko
On May 31 - June 1 Vladimir Putin made
his first visit abroad since his inauguration. He started with Minsk,
where he set his priorities in favor of the Eurasian Union, then visited
the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and new French President
François Hollande. He did not have any disagreement on Syria with
Merkel, but Hollande tried to persuade Putin to get rid of Assad.
The meeting with Merkel was marked with
kisses on the cheek and warm relations. At a joint press conference,
Putin warned that a civil war in Syria has almost started, and called
the situation in the Arab country "extremely dangerous". He stressed
Russia's long-standing relations with Syria, but denied that he
supported the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
"We do not supply him any weapons that
he can use against the rebels", Putin said. There has been no response
to this statement, although it was clearly made with the idea of further
clarification. Indeed, there is a Russian contract currently in the
process of execution to supply the Syrians PBRK "Bastion" and supersonic
anti-ship cruise missile "Yakhont", as well as contracts for the supply
of 24 fighters MiG-29M/M2 and eight air defense systems "Buk-M2E." All
these are not weapons for urban warfare.
Both Putin and Merkel demanded to use only a "political solution" to the conflict.
The visit to France did not go that
smoothly. On the eve of the visit Hollande, with some uncharacteristic
for the novice in politics persistently, claimed on TV that he would try
to persuade Putin to change his position of Syria, particularly in
relation to al-Assad. He urged so strongly that caused Putin to show
emotions. Hollande said that Assad's regime conducted itself in an
unacceptable manner. To which Putin replied: "As for al-Assad, he
visited Paris more often, so let's take a look at the issue from this
side." Hollande reacted: "I do not take responsibility for it, it was a
different era."
Hollande did not rule out a military
solution to the problems of Syria, and he is convinced that this option
is pretty much a priority because he does not believe in the mission of
Annan. Comments of the French to the claims were somewhat surprised.
Involving the Republic in the conflict is not that difficult, but why
would the French need second Afghanistan? Perhaps, the newly elected
President does not have to start with such pushy actions and put
pressure on Putin. First, it is useless, second, there is no leverage,
and third, he has no international authority Nicolas Sarkozy had when he
rendered support to President Medvedev in the South Ossetian conflict.
The positions of Paris and Moscow differ
in terms of shared responsibility for the conflict between the Syrian
regime and the rebels and what is meant by a "political solution". If
Putin insists on the implementation of Annan's Plan, Hollande called for
increased pressure on Assad through new sanctions.
Putin says that Russia supports neither
Assad nor his opposition, but simply wants to put an end to violence
and bring all parties to the table. "We have very good long-term
relationship with Syria. But when I hear that Russia has some special
interests, it is a complete fallacy," the Russian president said. "We
have neither the volume of trade and economic ties nor military
cooperation. The only thing we care about in the Syrian issue is
possible radicalization of the situation and it getting out of control,
the death of innocent civilians," said the President. He believes that
the West does not adequately cover the situation in the country where
both sides are killing, not just the government forces.
Of course, Russia has its interests in
Syria. If not, then why declare its intention to sign an agreement with
Syria on free trade zone, which happened on May 25? Does the Russian
naval base in Tartus and 4-billion-dollar contracts for the supply of
arms present no military and strategic interests? What about the 50
thousand Russian citizens residing in Syria and 1200 Russian military
technicians providing assistance?
Another thing is that in relations with
Syria, Russia sticks not to a person, but the state. With the advent of
the next stooge of Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Brotherhood represented
by the free Syrian Army, the foothold in the Middle East can be bid
farewell. This is the opinion of another opposition leader, the leader
of the National Coordinating Committee for Democratic Change Haytham
Manna who recently held a meeting in Moscow with the Russian leadership.
It is worth noting that not only Moscow but also Berlin is annoyed with Hollande, according to the German Spiegel.
The representative of the Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ruprecht Polenz said that even the air operation, as in the case of
Gaddafi, is impossible because of the power of the Syrian army,
incomprehensible situation, reminiscent of the Civil War, and the
heterogeneity of the opposition. This suggests that Hollande, while
acting on emotion, is demonstrating incompetence.
However, the leaders of Russia and
France agreed on the assessment of the situation with the ex-prime
minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Hollande said that he and Putin agreed that
her place was not in jail. Putin praised France for its stance on U.S.
missile defense system in Europe. France, according to Putin, was "one
of the few countries that has not only listened, but heard" Russia. The
agenda for collaboration is developed. Francois Hollande has accepted
the invitation to visit Russia next year.
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