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Russia
Calls U.S. Move to Better Arm Syrian Rebels a 'Hostile
Act'
By Andrew Osborn
December 27,
2016 "Information
Clearing House"
- "Reuters"
- Russia said on Tuesday that a U.S. decision to
ease restrictions on arming Syrian rebels had opened the
way for deliveries of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft
missiles, a move it said would directly threaten Russian
forces in Syria.
Moscow last year launched a campaign of air strikes in
Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad and his forces
retake territory lost to rebels, some of whom are
supported by the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the
policy change easing restrictions on weapons supplies
had been set out in a new U.S. defence spending bill and
that Moscow regarded the step as a hostile act.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who has been sharply
critical of Russia's intervention in Syria, signed the
annual defence policy bill into law last week.
"Washington has placed its bets on supplying military
aid to anti-government forces who don’t differ than much
from blood thirsty head choppers. Now, the possibility
of supplying them with weapons, including mobile
anti-aircraft complexes, has been written into this new
bill," Zakharova said in a statement.
"In the administration of B. Obama they must understand
that any weapons handed over will quickly end up in the
hands of jihadists," she added, saying that perhaps that
was what the White House was counting on happening.
The U.S. decision was a direct threat to the Russian air
force, to other Russian military personnel, and to
Russia's embassy in Damascus, said Zakharova.
"We therefore view the step as a hostile act.
Zakharova accused the Obama administration of trying to
"put a mine" under the incoming administration of
President-elect Donald Trump by attempting to get it to
continue what she called Washington's "anti-Russian
line."
The Obama administration has in recent weeks expanded
the list of Russians affected by U.S. sanctions imposed
on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.
Trump, during his election campaign, said he was keen to
try to improve relations with Moscow and spoke
positively about President Vladimir Putin's leadership
skills.
A back-and-forth exchange between Trump and Putin over
nuclear weapons last week tested the Republican's
promises to improve relations with Russia however.
The Obama administration and U.S. intelligence officials
have accused Russia of trying to interfere with the U.S.
election by hacking Democratic Party accounts.
"The current occupants of the White House imagined that
they could pressure Russia," said Zakharova. "Let's hope
that those who replace them will be wiser."
(Additional reporting by Peter Hobson in Moscow and Tom
Perry in Beirut; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
The views
expressed in this article are the author's own and do
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