US ‘spare Nusra for plan B’ to change regime in Syria – Lavrov

[MikeWB]

WW3 soon?



The US is keeping jihadist group al-Nusra for a "Plan B", potentially to overthrow Syrian President Assad, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the BBC.

Speaking to the British outlet about increased violence in Syria, including in Aleppo, Lavrov said that Washington has still not delivered on its promise to persuade US-backed rebels to separate from Jabhat al-Nusra jihadists.

The Russian Foreign Minister also said that the reason for this could be Washington's desire to "change the regime" in the country.

"They still, in spite of many repeated promises and commitments ... are not able or not willing to do this and we have more and more reasons to believe that from the very beginning the plan was to spare al-Nusra and to keep it just in case for Plan B or stage two when it would be time to change the regime," Lavrov said.

The separation of so-called "moderate" anti-government fighters from terrorist groups is one of the cornerstones of the Russia-US brokered peace deal for Syria.

Lavrov's statement came on the first anniversary of the Russian anti-ISIS air campaign at the request of President Assad. On September 25 the US envoy to the UN, Samantha Power, called Russia's actions in Syria "barbarism," with Lavrov saying such rhetoric is "unacceptable." When questioned about alleged civilian casualties caused by Russian strikes in Aleppo, Lavrov said that there was "no meaningful proof."

"We are not using any munition which is prohibited by the United Nations," he added.

Instead Lavrov noted that the West including the US is remaining silent over terrorist re-supplies in the city during the humanitarian pauses agreed between Moscow and Washington. "Every time these pauses have been used by Nusra to get from abroad more fighters, more ammunition and more weapons," the official said.

The deteriorating situation in Aleppo was the focus of Lavrov's telephone call with US State Secretary Kerry on Friday, according to the statement from Russia's foreign Ministry. During the conversation Kerry asked Russia to stop its current counter-terrorist strikes in Aleppo to re-activate the truce deal there.

Lavrov countered that it's the militants "controlled by al-Nusra" who jeopardize peace efforts. The terrorists are "shielding themselves with other armed groups" in order not to be attacked, Lavrov noted, stressing that Washington needs to do more to persuade moderate forces to dodge any cooperation with Jihadists.

Yet Russia "is still ready for an open dialogue with the US on all key questions of settling the Syrian crisis," Lavrov added.

The US appears less willing to find solutions after the State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said his country is "on the verge" of breaking up cooperation with Moscow on Syria.

Aleppo remains one of the key examples of civilian suffering during the Syrian war. The UN estimates that some 250,000 thousand people in the ravaged city are in need of basics like medicine and water. Humanitarian assistance to the city was part of the deal clinched by Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry on September 9.
However it suffered a major setback when a UN-backed convoy was attacked just 10 days later by unknown assailants, leaving 21 people dead.

While speaking with Lavrov the BBC claimed that there is "evidence" proving that the attack involved the Russian military. The official countered that he "would like to see that evidence," adding that one should wait for the results of the investigation launched by the UN.

Aside from the Syrian deadlock, Lavrov has been also quizzed by the British outlet over the alleged Russian role in the crash of MH17 in 2014. The official was asked if he wanted to apologize for the incident after the Dutch-led international inquiry found that the missile system which downed the plane was allegedly brought from Russia.
Lavrov noted that the investigation is still ongoing, and that Russia has provided all the relevant information to the international team.

During the presentation of the results on September 28 the Dutch-led specialists did not implicate any exact Russian officials and residents, stressing merely that they have a list of some 100 culprits, without disclosing their nationalities.

https://www.rt.com/news/361242-interview-lavrov-bbc-syria/

[MikeWB]

Russia speaks at UN Security Council: 'Al Qaeda receiving tanks and heavy weapons from US coalition'

Alex Christoforou

Russia's envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin says, "The ceasefire can only be salvaged now on a collective basis."

With each passing day, more and more people wake up to the fact that the United States is directly supporting Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria.

America's plan was never to destroy ISIS. It was to use ISIS as its proxy "boots on the ground" in order to overthrow Assad.

The Saudi proxy army of Al Qaeda was likewise sent in to Syria to aid in the "Assad must go" mission...albeit the guys who took out the Twin Towers in 2001 now had a Madison Avenue rebranding under the name of Al Nusra.

Problem is Assad held his ground, as Syria fought back against incredible odds, and with a high cost.

Russia and Iran could not stand by any longer and allow Syria to be dismantled by the unholy American-Wahhabi alliance.

America now finds itself losing, unable to complete its goal of regime change.

Saudi Arabia remains silent thus far. All masters pulling the strings are usually quiet in the shadows. Why should the Kingdom make any statements on its failed war in Syria, when it has its bought and paid for puppets (Barack Obama, John Kerry, Samantha Power, and Hillary Clinton) out in front.

And so the war of words reached fever pitch at a UN emergency Security Council meeting where The Duran covered US envoy Samantha Power's statement of support for ISIS and Al Qaeda.

Now we turn to the adults in the room...the real diplomats, to get beyond the western war spin and hear the uncomfortable truths about the Syrian invasion orchestrated by Washington and Riyadh.

Russia's envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin responded to Samantha Power with stunning revelations about America's latest war...

It was revealed by Russia that Al-Nusra Front (aka Al Qaeda) in Aleppo continues to receive tanks and heavy weapons shipped by "western backers".  American diplomats and mass media channels conveniently omits such facts, as the US does nothing to stop the flow of weapons to the terrorists in Syria.

    "They are armed by tanks, APCs, field artillery, multiple rocket launchers... dozens and dozens of units, including heavy weaponry... Of course, they couldn't have made this equipment themselves. All of this has been received by them and is still being shipped to them by generous Western backers, with the US, presumably, turning a blind eye."

It was revealed by Russia that Al-Nusra (aka Al Qaeda) terrorists are using the civilian population of Aleppo as human shields, while indiscriminately attacking residential areas controlled by the legitimate, internationally recognized, Syrian government.

    "Over 200,000 residents of Aleppo are hostages of the Al-Nusra Front and groups allied with it."

Finally Russia countered statements made by Samantha Power, laying out the glaring fact that the US has been unable (after 8 months) to separate "good terrorists" from "bad terrorists", or as America calls them "moderate rebels"...a term that has now become synonymous with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

    "The ceasefire can only be salvaged now on a collective basis. It's not us that have to prove something to somebody unilaterally. We have to see proof that there is a genuine desire to separate US-allied rebel groups from the Al-Nusra Front, then destroy the Al-Nusra Front and bring the opposition into a political process. Otherwise our suspicions that this was only meant to shield the Al-Nusra Front would only grow stronger."

And because the United States cannot separate "moderate rebels" from Al Nusra, securing peace in Syria "is almost an impossible task now."

RT reports further on Russia's position and statement at the UN meeting....

    Moscow's experience of giving concessions to the Syrian rebels following requests from the US, in the hope of it culminating in a ceasefire has not worked, Churkin told the Security Council adding that Moscow will no longer be following these steps.

    Vitaly Churkin said that Russia has pressured Damascus on several occasions to meet the demands of its opponents, in the hope that this would lead to a ceasefire. However, this has not had the desired result and has seen constant violations by some rebel groups despite Washington's promise to keep them under control.

    "The American side de facto signed that it was unable to influence the groups it sponsors and to deliver on the deal as it promised. First of all, to separate those groups from terrorists and mark their positions on the ground accordingly," he said.

    He added that the actions of the US-led coalition, which killed 62 Syrian government soldiers in a miscalculated airstrike near Deir ez-Zor and exposed them to an offensive by the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) damaged relations with Damascus.

http://theduran.com/russia-speaks-un-security-council-al-qaeda-receiving-tanks-and-heavy-weapons-us-coalition/