Putin Meets Erdogan as Russia Pursues Syria Diplomacy Blitz
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Russian President Vladimir Putin continued his diplomatic push for a plan to establish safe zones in Syria backed by peacekeepers as he began talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday.
Russia and Turkey can “change the destiny of the whole region” together, Erdogan told Putin, who said relations between the two countries are acquiring a special status. The meeting is taking place a day after Putin discussed the plan for safe zones with U.S. President Donald Trump in what the White House described as a “very good” phone call.
Putin and Trump agreed to step up efforts to cooperate on resolving the Syria conflict and the fight against terrorism, according to U.S. and Russian statements. A senior U.S. diplomat is attending two days of Russian-led talks on Syria that started Tuesday in Kazakhstan and include discussion of the safe areas.
Syria’s opposition is skeptical about the Russian initiative, which calls for the creation of four buffer zones patrolled by forces that could include troops from Russia, Turkey and Iran. The areas would be set up in the northwestern Idlib province, Homs province in the west, the East Ghouta suburb of the capital Damascus and southern Syria.
The talks on the safe areas taking place in the Kazakh capital, Astana, are “very positive and I’m hopeful we will reach an understanding on this,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Sochi.
UN Peacekeepers
Opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad want United Nations peacekeepers to be deployed. That’s an idea rejected by the Syrian government, pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported on Wednesday, citing a ruling party lawmaker in Damascus, Sadji Taama.
In a sign of the difficulties in brokering a solution, the opposition delegation on Wednesday suspended its participation in the Astana talks because of “unending bombardment” by government forces and their allies, a senior opposition member, Yayha al-Aridi, said by text message.
Russia has long urged the U.S. to join forces with it in Syria. But Trump’s campaign pledge to cooperate with Putin on defeating Islamic State has run into resistance from Republicans and Democrats who are pushing for a harder line toward Moscow over its meddling in the U.S. election, support for Assad and interference in Ukraine.
The Trump-Putin call was the first between the two leaders since tensions erupted over a U.S. missile strike on Syria last month in response to a chemical weapons attack the U.S. government says was launched by Assad’s forces. The Syrian president and his Russian allies rejected the accusations.
Trade Restrictions
While Assad managed to turn the tide of war in his favor after Russia started an air campaign in September 2015, continued fighting between his forces and rebels backed by the U.S. and its allies including Turkey and Saudi Arabia stand in the way of a political settlement. The conflict has killed an estimated 400,000 people and sent millions more fleeing.
Erdogan said on Tuesday in Ankara that he also plans to discuss the issue of visas with Putin. Russia and Turkey remain at odds over trade restrictions after a chill in relations that lasted for months when the Turkish air force shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in late 2015.
Russia continues to block Turkish tomato imports worth a quarter of a billion dollars a year while Turkey has effectively barred Russian grain and other food supplies that have cost Russian exporters up to $1.5 billion, according to estimates cited by the Kommersant newspaper. Putin and Erdogan may discuss grain supplies to Turkey at the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Sochi.
The two leaders may also discuss the possible supply of Russia’s advanced S-400 missile-defense system to Turkey, according to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.
Putin discussed Syria along with other issues with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Sochi on Tuesday. Merkel visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday in her capacity as the chair of the Group of 20, which will hold its annual leaders’ summit in Hamburg in July.
How did you manage to get this post in while I was editing the audio? Are you a hacker or just fast?
Just smooth big Al. Just smooth. Sincerely. Ugly but proud
I really don’t think the United States is a country anymore. It’s a extension of Israel and the banking cabal that created the COMMUNIST, man made global warming and the Islamic terrorism hoax. The wealth has been sucked out of the west, now the COMMUNIST banking cabal will head east
Interesting comment Proud!
For your information, Big Al, some countries have embassies in Jerusalem.
Possibly the location within Jerusalem of an embassy (as opposed to the current consulate) would be significant.
Suggested reading:
http://www.thetower.org/article/jerusalem-already-has-plenty-of-embassies-just-not-to-israel/
Kind of my thought, Professor
Apparently, Israel had prepared and launched a missile strike in order to provide artillery support to Al-Qaeda terrorists. The Israeli drones recorded in the province of Breaking: Israeli Air Force Missile Strikes Syrian Army Positions, Israel Comes to the Rescue of Al Qaeda Terrorists
Strikes in Quneitra Governorate
By Sophie Mangal
Global Research, April 22, 2017
Inside Syria Media CenterQuneitra make it possible to conclude that Al-Qaeda is provided with reconnaissance information from the battlefields with Israel help too.
Sophie Mangal is a co-editor at Inside Syria Media Center.
b, it certainly gets more interesting by the minute doesn’t it!
Editor / September 29, 2015
Israel_Soldiers_Kaiser_035Currently up to 800 IDF forces are operating in support of al Nusra and ISIS inside Syria, coordinating operations including artillery and air support for al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
from Veterans Today:
Assad: Al-Qaeda Has an Air Force – the Israeli Air Force – Israel …
http://www.israelnationalnews.com › All News › Middle East
Jan 26, 2015 –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ2KzjNtDTc
The Truth About ISIS With Syrian Girl
Paul Joseph Watson
2 years ago1,497,032 views
Who is backing ISIS? What is the agenda behind the group’s takeover of Iraq and the Middle EastPublished on Jul 9, 2014
I tried finding different dates, notice this one is 2014.
Israel working with isis is nothing new Al.
Interesting some articles have been removed.
b, I appreciate all of your input on this issue.
I think the US should give the city of Buffalo New York to Canada. Buffalo has a proud history but it has been forgotten by it’s own country after the St. Lawrence Seaway was built. Canada would love to include Buffalo into it’s Golden Horseshoe. DT
Buffalo has terrible weather but it would be a great mix with it’s northern neighbor! DT
I have always liked Buffalo New York, this city has some beautiful old buildings starting from the 1890’s, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a number of them, cathedrals a plenty, art galleries, and a wonderful waterfront. America has forgotten it’s past. DT
I spent some time in Buffalo During August a lot of years ago. I enjoyed the city then. I went backt the next year in January or February. Very different story!
Regardless, I found it both times to be an interesting city.
Hmmm … maybe there is more happening behind the curtains (so to speak) than meets the eye (to mix a metaphor).
All along I thought the issue was with the gas pipeline that Qatar and Saudi Arabia want to route through Syria (that others on this forum have mentioned). Now however, I saw some new information today that altered this opinion (actually, I had heard about the oil found in the Golan Heights before … but, I was NOT really aware of the significance).
Please check out this article from Martin Armstrong: https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/middle_east/is-there-really-more-oil-in-the-golan-heights-than-is-saudi-arabia/
In particular, please check out the folks that are on the board of directors of the company that he mentions. A “who’s who list” if ever there was one
Things are not as they appear and prudence dictates a sober reflection and careful analysis before coming to conclusions (I say this to anyone who does not subscribe to MSM for formulating their understanding of events that are unfolding).
Isn’t there a big underwater oil/gas field between Cyprus and Lebanon/Israel?
The Leviathan gas field is a large natural gas field located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, 47 kilometres (29 mi) south-west of the Tamar gas field.[1] The gas field is located roughly 130 kilometres (81 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) deep in the Levantine basin, a rich hydrocarbon area in one of the world’s larger offshore gas finds of the past decade.[2][3][4] According to some commentators, the gas find has the potential to change Israel’s foreign relations with neighboring countries Turkey, and Egypt.[5] Together with the nearby Tamar gas field, the Leviathan field is seen as an opportunity for Israel to become a major energy player in the Middle East.
Mentioned yesterday …..Genie Energy..location Israel area…….Murdoch, Chaney on the board….
Turd……first mentioned it ….from Marty Armstrong article , which you(MIKE) mentioned, …Interesting indeed concerning the Board Members…….
thanks for the post………
I’ll take this in order as covered in the interview.
1) ISIS apology. Since Israel has been providing medical services for ISIS/Al Nusra casualties I see nothing unusual about the apology. (two links of MANY http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315347/Watch-heart-pounding-moment-Israeli-commandos-save-Islamic-militants-Syrian-warzone-risking-lives-sworn-enemies.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4671371,00.html (the ynet link does some whitewashing IMHO). Israel is hip deep in this. They are following their age old policy of Divide and Ruin. I understand it, I don’t like it and I think it is suicidal to put it mildly.
2) Abbas. He’s become a non entity. Trump may as well have met the owner of the biggest Falafel house in Palestine. Only useful for propaganda and BS.
3) Erdogan/Putin. Anyone who can deal with Erdogan without tearing his hair out (over and over) has my deepest sympathy and equally my deepest admiration. But they both have to negotiate in the realization that politics is about the possible, not the wish of a fantasy. As for the opposition forces, they can wish for the moon (The Kiev regime also has fantasies of some kind of UN “peace force”). NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. The “opposition” is getting their ass kicked and the next Syrian/Russian/Iranian/Hezbollah push (probably in the next week or two after this Astana thing sputters out, though I could be wrong) could be brutal, so the opposition’s fairy tale wishes are moot. There are good reports that the opposition is fracturing (East Ghouta, for example and I’m sure that rumors of it spreading to Idlib are true).
4) Putin/Trump cooperation. Putin keeps the door open. Trump may want to go through the door but the question is, can Trump direct the Pentagon and the CIA (as well as a number of other unnamed foreign agencies, murderous b*stards as far as I’m concerned) in the same direction without being stabbed in the back.
5) Israeli embassy move. You can put all the lipstick you want on this pig. It’s still a pig. Don’t do it. It’s stupid. To quote Talleyrand “It was worse than a crime, it was a blunder”.
My first post seems to have gotten lost, so I’ll repost.
I’ll take this in order as covered in the interview.
1) ISIS apology. Since Israel has been providing medical services for ISIS/Al Nusra casualties I see nothing unusual about the apology. (two links of MANY http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315347/Watch-heart-pounding-moment-Israeli-commandos-save-Islamic-militants-Syrian-warzone-risking-lives-sworn-enemies.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4671371,00.html (the ynet link does some whitewashing IMHO). Israel is hip deep in this. They are following their age old policy of Divide and Ruin. I understand it, I don’t like it and I think it is suicidal to put it mildly.
2) Abbas. He’s become a non entity. Trump may as well have met the owner of the biggest Falafel house in Palestine. Only useful for propaganda.
3) Erdogan/Putin. Anyone who can deal with Erdogan without tearing his hair out (over and over) has my deepest sympathy and equally my deepest admiration. But they both have to negotiate in the realization that politics is about the possible, not the wish of a fantasy. As for the opposition forces, they can wish for the moon (The Kiev regime also has fantasies of some kind of UN “peace force”). NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. The “opposition” is getting their ass kicked and the next Syrian/Russian/Iranian/Hezbollah push (probably in the next week or two after this Astana thing sputters out, though I could be wrong) could be brutal, so the opposition’s fairy tale wishes are moot. There are good reports that the opposition is fracturing (East Ghouta, for example and I’m sure that rumors of it spreading to Idlib are true).
4) Putin/Trump cooperation. Putin keeps the door open. Trump may want to go through the door but the question is, can Trump direct the Pentagon and the CIA (as well as a number of other unnamed foreign agencies, murderous psychopaths as far as I’m concerned) in the same direction without being stabbed in the back.
5) Israeli embassy move. You can put all the lipstick you want on this pig. It’s still a pig. Don’t do it. It’s stupid. To quote Talleyrand “It was worse than a crime, it was a blunder”.
Great post, JohnM.
Thank the GODZ for the mighty, mighty *PUTIN::