Russia To Send Warships to Syria – Report
Russia
is to send two warships to Syria to protect its naval base at Tartus,
said Interfax news agency, citing an unnamed Russian navy source. The
Nikolai Filchenkov and Caesar Kunikov landing ships will carry a large
group of marines, said the report, which comes at a time of increased
tension and violence in Syria.
The country was been expelled from the
Arab League after the deaths of thousands of protesters against
President Bashar al-Assad. In Cyprus, President Demetris Christofias’
former close relations with Syrian President Assad have become an
embarassment and a dilemma to the government, torn between its close
relations to Russia – the Syrian government’s ally – and its EU
membership.
The EU is outraged at the deaths of
civilians in the country and is in the process of tightening sanctions
on Assad. With the EU Presidency coming up, Cyprus may have to choose
sides once and for all. So far, it has not joined the voices in favour
of replacing Assad, and has contented itself with simply condemning the
recent massacre in El-Houleh. Many other nations, including the UK, US,
Canada and France, have closed their embassies in Syria and expelled
Syrian representatives completely.
Cyprus has paid dearly so far for the
president’s policy of supporting Russia and Assad. Last summer, in a
tragedy directly linked with Syria, high explosives confiscated en route
to to the country from Iran detonated at a naval base, killing 13. The
president has been blamed for failing to destroy the munitions, which he
promised to return to Assad after apologising for confiscating them.
In a later incident, Cyprus was harshly
criticised by MEPs for letting The Chariot ship slip through its
fingers. The ship was loaded with munitions but was released by Cypriot
authorities and delivered its cargo to Syria after leaving Cyprus
waters.
The latest development of Russia sending ships to Tartus has not been confirmed by the Russian defence ministry.
Source: cyprusnewsreport.com
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