© www.aljazeera.comMr. Lavrov and Mr. Kerry: Candid photos reveal modes of international negotiation. (Check out background reactions!)
Thus, it turns out that six states have openly opposed the preservation of the territorial integrity of another UN member state. The situation looks surreal since this step contradicts the basic principles of the UN Charter, and those six above mentioned states have basically undermined the very foundation of this international organization.
The latest vote can only be interpreted as straightforward encouragement of armed aggression against Syria, which pursues a single goal - to tear apart this embattled nation as soon as possible. Of course, we are talking about Turkey, although this particular state or any other potential aggressor hasn't been mentioned in the draft of the resolution. Ankara is determined to occupy northern Syria and in the creation of a so-called "safe zone" that will harbor terrorists, a step in the creation of Erdogan's neo-Ottoman Empire.
It is safe to say that the Turkish regime is prepared for unprovoked aggression since it has been changing pretexts for such aggression a number of times over the last couple of months. First we were told there's a need to create a "no-fly zone" for Syrian refugees, then Erdogan was willing to rush in to protect Turkomans - a Turkic-speaking minority that has never been oppressed by the Assad government, and once Kurds launched an all-out assault on the positions of ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra in northern Syria they have suddenly become the terrible Kurdish terrorists that are to be destroyed.
In other words, while pretexts change the course of action remains the same - Turkey keeps on supplying terrorists, shelling Syrian cites, which has already been documented on a number of videos, and sends its special forces that were careless enough to write about their missions on social networks - it's all a part of the invasion.
It's true that so far we haven't seen a full-scale invasion, but it seems that we should be thanking Turkish generals and various political figures that are so far not willing to provide unconditional support to the mad ideological projects of Tayyip Erdogan and his sidekick Prime Minister, who has so far been playing the most sinister role in this story. The army has always been a massive supporting pillar of the Turkish state, therefore, even if it's weakened by Erdogan's repressions, military authorities are not exactly in a hurry to go to war with Russia and then confront the whole Arab world, a world that hasn't exactly forgotten five hundred years of the Ottoman rule.
But who else could be interested in tearing the Syrian Arab Republic apart? It's Saudi Arabia without doubt, which has announced on February 13 that it's sending its warplanes to Turkey for them to allegedly fight ISIS. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly announced that it is going to launch a massive ground assault against ISIS, but only within the framework of leadership within the US coalition. In the meantime Washington keeps on making contradictory statements about the possibility of such a step, first renouncing it completely and then saying that it would be ready to launch it in a matter of days.
Riyadh is hardly in any better of a position than its partner in crime - Ankara. The ruling clan has been facing one challenge after another over the last couple of years, since extremely low oil prices have produced a devastating effect on the kingdom's treasury (last year's budget was short of a "mere" 98 billion dollars). Moreover, Saudi Arabia is engaged in war against Yemen, where it has found itself unable to beat local rebels - the Houthis.
Yet it keeps on vigorously demanding the change of the Assad government, while making claims that it's prepared to invade Syria any day now, without reservation. But it seems that these actions serve nothing more than a supporting role for Western forces that exposed themselves at the UN on November 20. Among these states one finds Great Britain and France who have already reshaped the Middle East in early twentieth century, and now are trying to do it again at the beginning of the twenty-first century under US leadership.
To achieve these goals these states are exploiting the desires of Tayyip Erdogan, who craves a new Ottoman Empire, and the al-Saud clan which is after the creation of some of "legal" sectarian caliphate that would replace ISIS. For this purpose in early January Riyadh announced the establishment of its own anti-terrorist coalition composed of 34 Islamic countries that are allegedly assembled to fight ISIS.
Saudi Arabia would gladly settle with the occupation of the "Sunni" part of Syria. Those are the eastern areas that are occupied by ISIS, with the capital of the Islamic State -the city of Raqqa that Saudis are prepared to bomb and conquer with its special forces. While these plans remain purely hypothetical - since Saudi Arabia has neither the means nor the right to intervene in Syria - if it could achieve it, it would never hand over these territories to the legitimate Syrian government ever again. But Syrian and Iranian politicians have made it pretty clear that any Saudi forces that invade Syria will make their trip back home in coffins.
Now, after the UN vote on the draft of the Russian resolution, it is clear that Washington, London and Paris are cheering for Ankara and Riyadh to launch a frontal assault against Syria and Russia, which will significantly weaken those proxy states and could well lead to their destruction, which will leave the West to solve its own geopolitical problems for decades to come.
The exact same tactics were used by the United States on the eve of World War II, when Washington and London unleashed the beast created by Hitler against the Soviet Union. Now the same trick is being played in the Middle East, while Saudi and Turkish authorities are being encouraged to pursue highly dangerous projects as long as oil prices remain low, all while Europe is being attacked by various terrorist cells that have infiltrated it. It is no coincidence that NATO is officially declaring that it will not support Turkey in the conflict with Russia. Of course, they would rather stay behind and watch as others risk it all.
Moscow, it seems, is aware of these plans, since President Vladimir Putin's press secretary has already announced that a possible Russian-Turkish conflict is out of the question. The West's partners have also failed to spoil Russia's victory in Syria by imposing unfavorable terms upon a truce the agreement which was obtained during the course of discussions in Munich on February 11. As President Putin noted on February 20, the terrorists in Syria have openly declared Russia an enemy and they are prepared to expand their operations into Russia itself. Therefore, one shouldn't expect Russia to cease its anti-terrorist operations in Syria. Moreover, it won't give up the struggle for the preservation of Syria's territorial integrity, since once complete victory is achieved it will virtually bury all Western meddling in the region.
As for Turkey and Saudi Arabia, it's time for them to think twice about their futures and who will truly benefit and who will lose by abiding Washington's will.
Maxim Egorov, a political commentator on the Middle East and contributes regularly for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook.
Comment: As in WWII, those behind the curtain become more and more revealed as we add up the actions, motivations, manipulations and gains. Who is being sacrificed and who is benefitting...it all becomes clear as the players make their moves. It is all a trap, or don't they see this?