Medvedev is not optimistic on Syria, because the situation is very difficult and very complex. But Medvedev doesn't think the Annan plan is no longer relevant, and the reason is because it is a political, peaceful plan. In fact, it may seem that the positions of Russia and Occident, are vastly different, but actually they are not that different.
They all agree that a full-scale civil war in Syria would be the worst-case scenario. And what they have today is a civil war. A huge number of people have been killed. As usual, both sides are to blame, because they would not listen to each other and come to the negotiating table.
Putinland does not agree with Occident on many issues, because Putinlandian intelligence has proof that most of the revolts are incited by Occident. It does not make any sense that Occident incites the fire and then screams to stop the fire!
Karl-Theodor Guttenberg is the Czar of Cyberincitement. He was appointed by Neelie Kroes with specific instructions to cooperate with Hillary Clinton to use blogs for Occidental propaganda, especially to incite people to overthrow their antioccidental governments. Mission impossible! http://venitism.blogspot.com
Shocking images reveal the desecration of many Christian churches in Syria by Western-backed rebels. A Free Syrian Army rebel poses in a stolen priest's robe while brandishing a looted cross in one hand and a machine gun in the other. Images show church pews broken apart, with pieces strewn all over. The floor is covered with rubble, and even the altar has been desecrated.
Christian minorities are facing a growing threat and thousands are being forced to flee their homes as they face harassment and discrimination from opposition radical Islamist factions. 12,000 Christians from the western Syrian city of Qusayr were forced to seek refuge after an ultimatum from a local military chief from the armed opposition. All mosques in the city have announced that Christians must leave Qusayr within six days. Attempts to evacuate Christians from Homs have been unsuccessful, as rebels want to keep the civilians inside to use them as bargaining chips and human shields.
Nevertheless, American intelligence operatives continue to step up their contacts with Syrian rebels to help organize their growing military operations against Assad's forces. CIA and the State Department are helping the Free Syrian Army develop logistical routes for moving supplies into Syria and providing training in communications.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been paying salaries to the Syrian rebels. Turkey, which hosts some units of the Free Syrian Army, ensures material and technical support. As long as USA and its allies continue to blindly support the radical rebels, stability in Syria will remain unattainable.
Russia remains concerned about human rights conditions in Saudi Arabia and global terrorism of the Royal House of Saudi Arabia. Principal human rights issues include abuse of prisoners and incommunicado detention; prohibitions or severe restrictions on freedom of speech, press, peaceful assembly and association, and religion; denial of the right of citizens to change their government; systematic discrimination against women and ethnic and religious minorities; and suppression of workers' rights. http://venitism.blogspot.com
Medvedev told Assad more than a year ago that he should act promptly and carry out reforms and, most importantly, build a relationship with the opposition, even though it may be difficult for him, even though he belongs to the Alawite minority, and most opposition activists belong to a different branch of Islam.
The Arab Spring is a mirage! It consists of a mishmash of anti-government demonstrations triggered in most cases by police over-reaction and fuelled by economic hard times in Tunisia and Egypt, ethnic and religious tensions in Syria and Bahrain, tribal rivalries in Libya and Yemen, and by growing public perception that Planetarch Uncle Sam is tired of the Middle East. http://venitism.blogspot.com
Syria is a very complex state. It's much more complex than Egypt or Libya because of all the communities living there: Sunnis, Shia, Alawites, Druze, and Christians. They will either find a way to get along or civil war and killings will go on indefinitely. So both sides are to blame.
Saudi Arabia, a disgusting terrorist country, helps the Syrian rebels. As has been documented repeatedly, Saudi Arabia is the major financial source of suicide bombers, religious incitements, extremist schools, and terrorist mosques throughout the world. As the Saudi ruling family's ally and protector, the U.S. government and other institutions cannot be silent while Saudi institutions continue to promote its deadly ideology, Wahhabism. As the protector of the Royal House of Saudi Arabia, Uncle Sam has a responsibility to make it clear to the Saudis that religious incitements are not only a threat to Occidental democratic institutions, but also to the international community as well.
All Syrians should come to the negotiating table and find a solution to this very difficult problem. Medvedev doesn't know what the future political situation in Syria will be like, and he doesn't know what role Assad will have in this future arrangement. It's up to the Syrian people to decide.
Kleptocrats are wholehearted believers that the Arab Spring will bring the installation of secular democracy across that region. This has been and still is a nonsense that only adolescent idealists or deliberate liars could believe, and one that has been proven fatuous by the fact that Islamists have won every election held since the start of the Arab Spring.
Al-Qaeda helps the Syrian rebels! UK's biggest arms dealer, BAE Systems, bribed billions of pounds to Bandar bin Sultan and other Saudi princes. The bribes were made with the full knowledge of the British Ministry of Defense. The bribes were discovered during a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation, but the SFO inquiry was stopped by the attorney general of UK, under pressure from the Royal House of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's sink-in-chief, with the twinkling eye and hawkish views, is the spy-in-chief of the corrupt kingdom. Before 2001, Bandar used to finance many terrorist groups, such as Mujahedin Khalq, al-Qaeda, and Fatah al-Islam.
Kleptocrats will not admit they are wrong on this issue and they will pump billions of dollars and euros in foreign aid into the Arab-Spring countries in a feckless, Muslim-alienating effort to build secular democracies and install kleptocracy. Such aid not only will be wasted, but it surely will cause more Muslims take up arms against the West. Indeed, the continuation of this war on Islam is likely to start the clash of cultures.
The difference between Russia and Occident on this issue is that Russia believes talks are the only way, and Occident wants to take more drastic measures. But the question is where is the line between resolutions and a military operation? Medvedev saw that with the resolution on Libya. It basically led to international intervention. This is a bad way. Both Obama and Cameron assured Medvedev this is not what they want. So Medvedev thinks the plan is not over, and we should cooperate and continue consultations.
Greeks, Turks, and Britons have influenced the culture of Middle East for many
centuries. Now there are many political transitions in the Middle East.
Everybody recognizes this is a pivotal moment in the Middle East and North
Africa. Hillary Clinton asserts the Arab Spring is an event comparable to the
fall of the Ottoman Empire or the decolonization of the Middle East following
the Second World War.
Medvedev says the Libyan experience influences the Russian position. In fact, when the situation with Syria started, Medvedev said from the very beginning that Russians would adjust their approach because of what happened with Libya. When the resolution on Libya was adopted, Medvedev thought all countries would hold consultations and talks and at the same time they would send a serious signal to the Libyan leader. But unfortunately it ended up the way it did. They kept telling Medvedev there would be no military operation, no intervention, but eventually they started a full-blown war that claimed many lives.
Historians will long be debating these momentous developments. The ability of
the West to shape the events in the Middle East is limited. The time has come
for Arabs to start writing their own narratives. It might get ugly and end up
being not the kind of narrative that Westerners like. But it will still be their
own narrative.
Medvedev declares it is a bad way to determine a country's future with war. We all share democratic values, but imposed democracy usually does not work. Democracy must grow from inside. Only then does it enjoy popular support. So, what happened with Libya has definitely affected Medvedev's position and continues influencing Russia's position on the Syrian conflict.
The future of the Middle East will be written by its own people, not by any
foreign power. We should stand with those in the region who call for peaceful,
democratic transitions, for tolerance and pluralism. Western policy approach
should be both pragmatic and in keeping with Graecoroman principles, values, and
interests.
Medvedev points out the past few years have been the most productive ones in Russia-US relations. And Medvedev is glad that during this period he had a chance to work with Obama on resetting their relations. Medvedev thinks they have achieved a lot, even though they still have differences on a number of issues. This is how international politics works: each state is guided by its own national interests the way it understands them. The Americans understand them in their way, the British in theirs, and Russia understands its national interests in its way, too. As a whole though, those were very positive years.
Medvedev doesn't think that we've entered a new era or that Russia is now taking a harder line with regard to the US, as the media claim. Medvedev doesn't think that Russian priorities have changed or that the reset is over, that it hasn't produced any results. This is completely wrong. It has produced many useful results, like the New START treaty.
