Russian Marines Begin Large Scale Military Exercises Inside Syria

[Bleipriester]

Once the non-refugees of the NDF are equipped with heavy weaponry and modern assault rifles, things will hopefully change.


"Last weekend, a number of Russian Marines – along with a large stockpile of heavy weaponry – arrived at the Syrian port-city of Tartous after a joint military agreement was adopted by the Russian Federation and the Syrian Government.

The Russian Marines were given the task to train and advise the new recruits from the civilian-led “National Defense Forces” (NDF) in order to bolster the aforementioned militia’s fighting prowess and flexibility on the battlefield.

According to a senior officer from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Russian Marines were deployed to three provinces (Latakia, Tartous, and Homs) and introduced to the commanding officers of the NDF contingents they are training and advising.

As the Russian Marines dispersed to their designated locations along the Syrian coast, they would await the arrival of their heavy armory and advanced assault rifles in order to begin the much anticipated military exercises with the National Defense Forces.

Their equipment arrived on Wednesday and their large scale military exercises with the National Defense Forces were set to begin on Thursday; this date was originally tentative due to the expected delays at the Turkish border.

The military exercises began inside the cities of Slunfeh (east Latakia) and Rif Safeeta (Tartous’ eastern countryside), where Russian Marines demonstrated how to use the Russian weapons, while amalgamating their fighting formations for the new recruits.

While, it may appear that the Russians are preparing to conduct military operations in Syria, the senior officer from the SAA quickly dismissed this allegation, stating that there are not enough Russian Marines to even consider the option."

Russian Marines Begin Large Scale Military Exercises Inside Syria

 

[Stratford57]

Moscow is set to continue supporting Syria in its fight against Islamic State and provide Damascus with military supplies, Russia’s foreign minister said, stressing that the drills of the Russian Navy near Syrian shores fully comply with international law.

“We support the fight of the Syrian government against so-called Islamic State, which neither represents Islam, nor happens to be a state,” Sergey Lavrov said today.
Russia will not hesitate to continue maintaining Syria’s defensive capacity to counter the terrorist threat, Lavrov said.

“I can tell you once again, that our servicemen and military experts remain there [in Syria] for the maintenance of Russian [military] hardware and assisting the Syrian army in using this hardware, there’s training under way,”Lavrov said, stressing that military hardware supplies will continue.

In fighting terrorism, Moscow has always supported“teamwork based on international legislation,”the foreign minister said.
Germany has said it welcomes more Russian engagement in the fight against Islamic State.

“I think we would welcome the Russian Federation and the Russian president ... getting actively involved in the fight against ISIS, given the dangers arising from Islamist terrorism,”Reuters cited German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer as saying, speaking at a regular government news conference in Berlin on Friday.

Lavrov also reiterated that the anti-ISIS coalition should start cooperating with the Syrian government and army on the ground.

“The most effective and powerful ground force to fight Islamic State is the Syrian army,” Lavrov said, adding that coordination is necessary to avoid“unintended incidents.”
Moscow has been calling on to the US-led anti-ISIS coalition to team up with the Syrian army from the very beginning of airstrikes against Islamic State one year ago.
“Better late than never,”Lavrov said.
“If battling terrorism is a priority, than all opportunistic considerations, like a regime change in Syria, should be put aside,”he added.

Moscow fully supports the revival of contacts between the Russian and American military, Lavrov said.

“If Washington, like [US Secretary of State] John Kerry reiterated, is ready to unfreeze such contacts, than here’s our welcome,”Lavrov said, recalling that when the contacts, now suspended on the US initiative, were in place, they were extremely stable and trustful.
“We always back up professional dialogue of the militaries, they understand each other well,”Lavrov said.“It’s important to preclude undesired and non-deliberate incidents,”Lavrov said.

Russia backs Syria’s fight against ISIS, not Assad’s regime – Lavrov

 

[Bleipriester]

The Syrian army needs to maintain its superiority that has always been redeeming the huge hordes of terrorists. I hope this isn´t another hardly noticeable word event. Syria hosts millions of displaced refugees next to the residents and the US don´t want humanitarian aid to be sent to them and refuses to support the Syrian government while it is allied with Erdogan who launches al-Nusra offensives from Turkey.

If the Syrian army cannot maintain a superior force, it has to withdraw to a shorter frontier.