ping
Marking their territory.
The Chinese also support Assad, and may send assets in.
So, in other words the Soviets are intervening to prevent intervention.
I haven’t heard anybody talking about foreign intervention unless Turkey takes some action along its’ border in which case, Russian Naval vessels would be ineffective.
Red flag rising. Almost to half mast.
God help me store food this winter because spring time is when kings go off to war.
That’s because the air defense systems Russians sold the region are demonstrated crap, and now Russia has to place REAL radar to help out in the event of a strike.
Probably in the fine print of the contract somewhere.
The Russkies can have Syria for all I care.
Is that a sinking ship I smell?
Let ‘em have it. In fact, I’d love to see Russian rule over all Muslim lands.
The muzzies would soon learn the true meaning of martyrdom.
Without the 40 wenches awaiting....
Well that should keep us out. Only a moron would risk a war with Russia to support an Islamic uprising in the Middle East.
Oh, sh*t.
It’s just The Love Boat
Love, exciting and new
Come aboard, we’re expecting you!
.....
And love won’t hurt anymore
It’s an open smile on a friendly shore
It’s a Russian warship
Defending a murderous regime
I don’t have to rhyme
Because I can’t think of anything that rhymes with regime
The love boat!
Ping.
However much Russia has changed internally, its foreign policy doesn’t seem to have budged an inch from the bad old Commie days.
They are also watching Israel to warn Iran if they detect a strike force.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-11/18/c_131256309.htm
“”This is all looking very much like a civil war,” said Lavrov in Moscow.
“It is not a secret that along with the peaceful demonstrators, whose strivings and demands we support, there is more and more participation of armed groups who have an entirely different agenda from reform and democracy in Syria,” Lavrov said.
...coastal Tartous city hosts a Russian naval supply and maintenance base... “
China sounds enthused over the rebellion.
Syrian waters? That would be a narrow ribbon of water. They’d be vulnerable to anyone who was truly interested in taking them out.
This is more about Russian counter to the possible Turkish intervention than it is about "the West".
The Caucasus/Black Sea area could surprise everyone as Russia and Turkey get their groove on.
Take out Tehran and both countries are likely to hurt themselves in their mad rush to swallow the Caucasus and "Greater Armenia".
Don't be surprised if Russia starts talking about the "rights of the long-suppressed Armenian People" as they begin to move south.
Both countries look forward to the vacuum of a fallen Iran.
I don’t think “the west” has any interest whatsoever in getting involved in any military activity in Syria.
According to Galrahn’s tweets, one of the Russian ships is a naval rescue ship. I think they might be concerned with protecting/extracting Russian military/civilian personel in Syria in the event of a full scale civil war. I don’t think they are worried about NATO getting involved.
Hard to predict what will happen there though, very different situation to Libya.
Russian exercise with NATO in Mediterranean
The reports of a deployment of Russian Navy warships to Syria/Syrian waters appears to be sensationalist. The Smetlivy doesn't appear to have been diverted after exercising with NATO assets. The replacement for the Severomorsk for anti-piracy patrols came from the Pacific Fleet. The Severomorsk transited through Tartus, Syria on its way back during September.Any large scale movements of Russian Black Sea Fleet into the Mediterranean would be reported by Turkey and would be instant news. Turkey still has full control of the straits with naval transits monitored under treaty.
The Russians announced back in September that the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov and escorts were going to deploy to the Mediterranean from November.
Aircraft Carrier to exercise from November
The visits to the Mediterranean and Syrian waters by the carrier have been a regular occurence over the past couple of years. So far there have been no further reports of this planned winter deployment.
I think that too many people have taken the reports as fact without actually studying the situation? Unless the Frigate Smetlivy has been diverted from its passage back home then there are no Russian major assets currently in the Mediterranean. A sizeable deployment of the Black Sea Fleet would be instant news via Turkey.