Moscow denies information about evacuation of its base in Syria’s Tartus. U.S. begins to supply arms to rebels (A COUNTER TO THE OBAMA LIES)

Moscow denies information about evacuation of its base in Syria’s Tartus. U.S. begins to supply arms to rebels


Moscow denies information about evacuation of its base in Syria’s Tartus. U.S. begins to supply arms to rebels
Publication time: 27 June 2013, 20:29

Russian Defense Ministry denied the information on the evacuation of Russian military base in Tartus. This point of logistics remains Russian, and, moreover, continues to operate as usual, said the ministry.

"Information distributed on the eve by a number of media outlets on the withdrawal of Russian E & P personnel from to the Syrian port of Tartus is not true, quoted RIA News a Defense Ministry official. - The claims of the withdrawal of E & P staff from the Syrian Tartus was presented in the media extremely incorrectly and contradicts the real situation".

Nevertheless, the Defense Ministry pointed out that there are really not a single Russian soldier in Tartus now since exclusively civilian personnel is servicing it: "This staff is still working normally. And there is no question of evacuation from Tartus at all".

It is to be recalled that on June 25, a Russian newspaper Vedomosti, citing a source in the Russian Defense Ministry reported that all Russian military personnel had been withdrawn from Syria. Neither military nor civil servants of the Ministry of Defense are present in Tartus, nor there are Russian advisers in the units of the Syrian army, said the source of Vedomosti.

Also quoted was Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov's interview to an Arab newspaper Al-Hyatt: "Now the Russian Ministry of Defense has not a single man in Syria. The point (Tartus) has no strategic or military value".

Meanwhile, in the next month, the American command plans to arm the troops of "vetted" Syrian rebels, according to The Wall Street Journal.

According to the American newspaper, weapons are now transferred to Jordan, where there is a secret network of warehouses. The newspaper said that diplomats and officials were briefed on the plans of supply.

It is assumed that it will take up to three weeks for the United States to transfer weapons to the Middle East region. The CIA also plans to spend about two weeks on the interaction with the rebel groups, during which US intelligence agencies should make sure that they know how to properly handle the transferred military equipment.

President Barack Obama for the first time allowed the arms shipments for the Syrian opposition after the announcement of the White House that it had evidence of use by Damascus of chemical weapons against rebels. In late May, the European Union decided to lift the embargo on arms shipments to Syria, which also influenced the decision of Washington, according to Western experts.

The EU countries reported however, that they are not going to arm the rebels in Syria until August 1, and the current actions of the American command were associated with trying to establish a way for the joint European-American supplies, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia and Qatar expressed their readiness to send to the Syrian opposition anti-tank weapons and portable anti-aircraft missiles in the near future.

This was reported by The Washington Post, analyzing a meeting of the Friends of Syria.

The actions of participants in the meeting was a "collective response" to the request to send weapons. It was particularly expressed by Selim Idris, chief of staff of the so-called Free Syrian Army. As it turned out, Middle Eastern neighbors of Syria - Qatar and Saudi Arabia - are ready to transport weapons and can start shipping soon.

According to the newspaper, foreign ministers from 11 countries agreed on procedures designed to prevent arms from falling into the hands of "Islamic radicals".

As pointed out by the newspaper, the decision was not unanimous: Germany topped the state who opposed weapon supply to the rebels.

It is to be recalled that the participants in a joint statement stated after a meeting of the Friends of Syria that each country was to determine what specific assistance it would deliver.


[link to www.kavkazcenter.com]