Why Russia is standing by Syria's Assad(Serbia redux?)

BBC ^ | 06/15/12

[TigerLikesRooster]

15 June 2012 Last updated at 15:45 GMT

Why Russia is standing by Syria's Assad

As the United Nations warns that Syria has descended into civil war, Russia continues to back President Bashar al-Assad in the face of growing international condemnation.

Konstantin von Eggert, political commentator for Kommersant FM radio in Moscow, looks at why the Kremlin is steadfastly supporting the beleaguered Syrian government.

Foreign policy analysts usually tend to explain Moscow's inflexible stance on Syria by evoking arms sales to Damascus (Bashar al-Assad's regime is said to have placed orders for Russian hardware to the tune of $3.5bn) and the Russian naval station in the Syrian port of Tartous.

But this alone does not account for Russia's seeming indifference to the adverse effect that its international advocacy of the Assad government has on its relations with the United States, the European Union and the majority of the Arab states.

The explanation has a lot to do with Russia's domestic policies and the obsessions of the Russian political class

[muawiyah]

Russia, under Putin, but probably influenced by some pretty good analysts, is seeking to become the great protector of Christian Orthodoxy in the world.

There aren't a whole lot of them left in Syria, but Assad's Alawites are considered their local protectors against the Sunni Moslems.

Russia now needs to move in on the Copts in Egypt and assorted residual Orthodox congregations hither and yon around the world.

[chrisser]

Could it be that those WMDs that weren’t in Iraq before they weren’t moved to Syria have a bunch of cyrillic fingerprints?

Nah. Everyone knows there were no WMDs in Iraq. Bush lied, etcetera etcetera.

[doorgunner69]

The balance owed Russia for goodies supplied my tell the tale. No Assad, no more payments?

[aposiopetic]

telling the world that neither the UN, nor any other body or group of countries has the right to decide who should or should not govern a sovereign state

Sounds like Alabama's reaction to the Agenda 21 nonsense.

[aposiopetic]

to become the great protector of Christian Orthodoxy in the world

Good point. The changes in Iraq post-Saddam, coupled with the so-called "Arab spring" (what a misnomer!), have led to persecution and killings.

[Bratch]

Sovereignty, to the Russian leadership, means an unlimited license for governments to do as they please within their national borders.

Okay, what am I missing here?

This seems eminently reasonable.

[Praxeologue]

Russia, under Putin, but probably influenced by some pretty good analysts, is seeking to become the great protector of Christian Orthodoxy in the world.

There aren't a whole lot of them left in Syria, but Assad's Alawites are considered their local protectors against the Sunni Moslems.

A defense of Eastern Christianity was also an important Russian motivation in Serbia. Of course the atheists at the BBC don't mention this.

In Syria, if the Sunni rebels prevail, they will slaughter the Alawites, Christians and Shiites. The Sunnis would carry out a bloodbath of much greater proportions than the current skirmishes.

The Russian mentality appreciates more than us why a secular strongman is required to rule Muslim-majority countries. Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar al-Assad all brutally kept Islamists in check and allied with and protected minorities, to include Christians, sometimes Jews and usually whichever of the Sunnis or Shiites were in the minority. The Syrian Alawites, of which Assad is a member, have centuries of experience keeping the Islamists at bay.

From Israel's perspective, Assad is at least the devil they know.

At this point, I hope that Assad prevails.

[VeniVidiVici]

Russia's simply not going to give up a naval base in the Mediterranean.

[ozzymandus]

Putin is stirring up trouble. I really doubt if he is worried about protecting Christians.

[onedoug]

Because the Russians usually maxamize evil. Though actually, as the opposition to Assad is still islmaist, what damned difference does it make?

[Crucial]

I read the port of Tartus is their only remaining naval base.

If that's the case they'll go to war themselves to keep it.

[SeaHawkFan]

Sadly, Assad is better than whoever might replace him.

[cunning_fish]

It is called real politic. Looks like anytime after the end of Cold War US supported a wrong side.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Putin murders innocent children in Syria like he murdered the innocents in Georgia. KGB Putin is a genocidal mass murdering psychopath!

Russia will lose the new Cold War like they lost the old Cold War and Russia will be a bad memory just like Putin's long lost EVIL EMPIRE.

[FreedomPoster]

There are no good guys here. It’s Sunni vs. Shiite, and the Saudis are pushing the US and Europe to support the Sunnis.

We want them both to Win (Lose). A few dead Russians in the mix is a bonus.

The is nothing going on there worth U.S. treasure and, especially, blood. Certainly not handing it over to Muslim Brotherhood Islamists, which would be the result of interceding as many in the press and gov’t are suggesting.

[cunning_fish]

Relax, Mishiko, please.

I don’t like Putin much, but you are absolutely irrational towards him.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks TigerLikesRooster. Russia remains the imperialist power that the USSR was, and that czarist Russia was before that. Putin and Russia are not the guardians of anyone or anything other than Russian interests, which are contrary to those of the US.