The Russian warship Varyag (photo credit: CC BY randychiu, Flickr)
Russian Warships Reportedly En Route To Syria To Prevent Western Attack -- Times of Israel
Israel and the US said to be mulling a military campaign to secure chemical weapons held by Moscow’s civil war-ravaged ally
A force of five Russian warships laden with hundreds of troops, which is headed toward Syria, is a show of force meant to deter Western armies from intervening in the war-torn nation, the London-based Sunday Times reported.
Previous reports cited Russian diplomats to the effect that the vessels were being put in place in order to evacuate thousands of Russians who still remain in Syria if the situation in the country called for it.
However, a Russian intelligence source was quoted as saying that the presence of over 300 marines on the ships was meant as a deterrent to keep countries hostile to the Bashar Assad regime from landing special forces in the country.
“Russia should be prepared for any developments, as it believes the situation in Syria might reach its peak before Easter,” the Russian diplomatic source was quoted as saying.
Read more ....
Update: Russian ships gathering off Syria to deter West -- Jerusalem Post
My Comment: What I find interesting in the above Times of Israel report is the quote that they got from a Russian intelligence official ....
.... “Russia should be prepared for any developments, as it believes the situation in Syria might reach its peak before Easter,” the Russian diplomatic source was quoted as saying.
In short .... the Russians are giving the Assad regime until April before everything starts to fall apart.
As to what is my take on why are there Russian warships off the coast of Syria .... I concur with what the Russian media has been saying for the past few weeks. The Russian government is getting ready to evacuate it's nationals in the event that the Assad regime collapses .... and not to prevent U.S./Israeli special forces from securing Syrian chemical stockpiles.
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