Why Are We Kowtowing To Russia? We No
Longer Want To See This Entreating Of The Russians
31 December 2012
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
I do not understand why there is this on-going
insistence - over the past 18 months – to persuade the
Russians to abandon the al-Assad regime in Syria,
particularly after the Kremlin's stubbornness has
become apparent. Why has this been the focus of Arab
efforts, even today, regarding attempts to stop the
genocide in Syria?
The master of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, has been
clear and consistent in his position of backing Bashar
al-Assad, supporting him with arms and experts,
protecting him at the UN Security Council, and
defending him in front of the international community.
Indeed, Russia has even printed Syrian currency after
Europe passed sanctions banning this.
In the beginning, we could only guess at the reasons
behind Russia's position, whilst Gulf delegations and
Syrian opposition forces visited Moscow and tried to
decipher the Russian puzzle with one hand, whilst
carrying gifts and pledges in the other. We said:
maybe the Russians have been taken in by al-Assad's
arguments, maybe they are concerned with their future
interests or afraid of Islamist extremists, or perhaps
they have taken this position out of love of material
interests. However these were all raised and dealt
with, but to no avail.
Today, after more than one year of such visits and
meetings and gifts and deals, it is clear that the
reason behind Russia's position is not important, the
only remaining conclusion is that Russia will stand
with Bashar al-Assad until the end, even if they have
now begun to use ornate language to justify their
embarrassing position.
Even if Russia changed its position today, it is too
late for this to mean anything. The Russians helped to
prolong the war, and they contributed to the killing
with the death toll now standing at 50,000. This has
been accompanied by the destruction of most of Syria's
cities, whilst more than 3 million Syrians have fled
the country. So what value would Russia changing its
position have today? Truly nothing! If the Russians
abandon al-Assad he will fall within one month, whilst
the rebels will have paid a heavy price, whilst if
they do not abandon him, he will fall in two months.
It is too late to reduce losses and the entire
situation has become inverted as stopping the war now
will only serve to reduce the losses of al-Assad and
his group!
We had hoped that the Russians would intervene over
the past 20 months so that they could be partners in
peace, but they – along with Iran – chose to partner
al-Assad in his crimes. We looked forward to a quick
end to the bloodshed in order to stop any revenge and
counter-revenge and to establish a civil state that
represents all Syrians, however the prolonging and
expansion of the conflict by al-Assad's allies
prepared the ground for the emergence of terrorist
groups and internal division. There is no longer
enough time for a smooth and peaceful transition, as
the optimistic – such as UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi –
claim.
Therefore, why is there such concern about Russia and
this pilgrimage to Moscow when it is ultimately
responsible for leading Syria into this quagmire of
blood? For more than a year we have been well aware
that the al-Assad regime is doomed, and it is no
longer even able to provide sufficient fuel for its
thousands of tanks to destroy houses, whilst it does
not possess sufficient ammunition to supply its
fighter jets and continue destroying Syria's cities on
a daily basis. We knew, and the Russians were also
aware, that it is impossible for any regime to remain
in power when the majority of its people are revolting
against it, regardless of its capabilities. The
outcome of this revolution was always known, the only
unknown was just precisely how the regime would fall.
Therefore, we no longer want to see this entreating of
the Russians, for the bereaved who have lose parents,
children, family members and friends can never agree
with or accept any of the solutions backed by Russia.
Al
Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of
Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in
the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is
a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He
has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs.
He is currently based in Dubai.
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EsinIslam.Com
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