Tuesday, July 04, 2023

US-Russian Tensions Rising in Syria and Ukraine


On July 1st, the Iranian news center Tasnim quoted 'military-diplomatic sources' in Damascus, Syria, on the formation of Kurdish volunteers by Ukrainian experts inside Syria, in what is referred to as 'terrorist structures'. It is about both, countering Russian presence in Syria and preparing Kurdish fighters for a later deployment in Ukraine. The original text message from Iran is as follows:


Furthermore, the source revealed that American and Ukrainian intelligence officers hold regular joint consultations in Iraq to address the issue of countering the Russian presence in Syria. It was also disclosed that a decision has been made to double the number of 'terrorist structures' in the region.

According to the source, Ukrainian experts trained at US bases in Iraq are currently providing training to recruited militants who will be sent to Ukraine at a later stage. The source highlighted that the Ukrainian consul in the Kurdish Autonomous Region in Iraq is typically entrusted with the task of recruiting militants and facilitating their transfer to Syria.

Notably, recent meetings between US forces and armed factions from Arab tribes in Al-Hasakah and Raqqa in Syria have intensified. These meetings aim to coordinate efforts with the militants, raising questions about the nature of this movement and the potential resurgence of tensions along the Syrian-Iraqi border.


At the same time, tensions between the US side and Russia's air force in Syria seem to rise as has been reported by Kurdistan 24, a Kurdish news center on June 22:

In a briefing to journalists [in Washington], U.S. Air Force Lt. General Alexus Grynkewich, who heads CENTCOM’s Combined Forces Air Component, explained how the war in Ukraine is exacerbating tensions in northeastern Syria, where the U.S. supports the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against ISIS. ..........

Asked by Kurdistan 24 if Russia’s aggressive posture toward U.S. forces in Syria might relate to its aggression against Ukraine, Grynkewich seemed to agree, providing several examples.

He suggested that Russia’s air force in Syria had become more aggressive “perhaps as a way to compensate for the fact that they have had to move capability and capacity out of Syria in order to support the war in Ukraine.”

Grynkewich also suggested that the difficulties Russia is facing in Ukraine may be contributing to reckless behavior by its pilots.


Editor's Comment:
I created this blogspot in order to shed some light on an alleged 'deployment of Kurdish mercenaries in Ukraine', a topic discussed by different Chinese media some days earlier.

As to the credibility of Russian sources, quoted by the Chinese, I have my seconds thoughts. Same goes with the Iranian news center:

Trying to verify any information given here, I stumbled on the fact that this article was only available in English. While other daily subjects of high importance usually go with a translation into other regional idioms like Arabic, Farsi or Hebrew, this was obviously not the case.

In a subsequent search of the net I therefore used keywords in Arabic, but without any relevant result. Among lots of Arabic sources of each provenance there was simply no (= zero) additional information on the subject coming from the region. I might have overlooked something of minor importance, but I don't believe so. So I come to think that this is just another disinformation campaign, as I already indicated in my last blogspot.

[By the way, I even found the Arabic version of a Tasnim article on Syria challenging the US in front of the United Nations Security Council for inflicting damage on Syria, including 100 billion US dollars of economic losses. That information had been quoted by the Chinese. => Compare last blogspot of mine !]
Syrian Ambassador Sabbagh during a session of the UN Security Council [Tasnim, Jan. 25, 2023]


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