http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/d ... imir-putin
Russia will utilise increased ‘military means’ if necessary, says Putin.
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Emma Graham-Harrison
Saturday 19 December 2015
Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia is ready to to scale up its military intervention in Syria, less than a day after Moscow signed off on an ambitious UN plan to end the war.
The peace roadmap lays out a two-year path to elections for a new government, starting with a January ceasefire, and marks the first time America and Russia have reached broad consensus on Syria’s future after years of conflict that has cost more than 250,000 lives and made millions more into refugees.
Future of Assad in doubt as UN unanimously supports Syria peace process
But the pact was so broad that it sidestepped one of the biggest questions at the heart of Syria’s troubles, the future of President Bashar al-Assad, and several other key issues. It was also drawn up without consulting Assad or the opposition groups fighting him on the ground.
The question of whether, when and how the Syrian leader might step down will hang over any attempts to broker long-term peace. The US says he must go, while Russia has doubled down on support for him, sending bombers, weapons and cash to support his troops.
“He’s in control of two-thirds of the populated areas of Syria, he has not been defeated on the battlefield, he has the support of all the minorities, as well as the secular Sunnis,” Peter Ford, former UK ambassador to Syria told the BBC after the deal was agreed.
“Its absurd to think that the Russians have come so far with this process only to throw Assad under the bus; it’s not going to happen.” 
Less than 24 hours after committing to peace in Syria, Putin himself said top commanders were ready to join the bomber pilots, support forces and other Russian troops already backing up Assad on the ground.
“We see how efficiently our pilots and intelligence agents coordinate their efforts with various kinds of forces – the army, navy and aviation, how they use the most modern weapons,” Reuters quoted him saying in a speech carried by local agencies.
“I want to stress that these are by far not all of our capabilities,” he said. “We have more military means. And we will use them, if need be.”
The deal exposes a widening gap between concerns of world powers and Syrians themselves. Diplomats and generals from Moscow to Washington are increasingly focused on containing and ultimately destroying Isis. Syrians are generally more preoccupied with Assad’s fate, whether they support their leader or bitterly oppose him.
Opposition groups will not agree to a political transition that includes Assad, a senior Syrian defector representing a spectrum of opposition groups warned. Security council resolutions and a road map agreed in Geneva provide for his removal, Riad Hijab told reporters on Friday.
“We are going into negotiations on this principle, we are not entering talks [based on] anything else. There will be no concession,” said Hijab, who served as prime minister under Assad in 2012 before defecting.
Critics point out that his bombing raids have killed many thousands more Syrian civilians than Isis, sometimes by using chemical weapons and often with cruelly indiscriminate barrel bombs. Many of the opposition fighters also spent time in his regime’s jails, where torture is widespread.
They also raise his apparent financial complicity with Isis, with oil purchases documented by US officials who recently condemned several firms for their role in the trade.
Another senior Syrian exile who represents the main western-backed opposition group warned that the deadline for a January ceasefire was too ambitious, the Associated Press reported.
Najib Ghadbian also said any agreement must include “the removal of all foreign troops from Syria”, including Russians who have been running an airstrike campaign that has allowed Assad to make key advances.
Assad’s supporters argue that he is the only secular bulwark against an opposition increasingly dominated by Islamists. They warn that removing him now could bring even more chaos and violence, as the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi did in nearby Libya, a concern shared by Washington.
Russia and the US have drawn somewhat closer after Moscow conceded that Assad might one day cede power, possibly to a close but less tainted ally, or if he is voted out in an election, while Washington stepped back from demands for his immediate removal.
Kerry said “everyone” had by now realised that demanding Assad’s departure up front in the process was “in fact, prolonging the war”, adding however that differences remain and the Syrian leader could not unite his country.
Iran has also promised to line up behind Moscow, in the push for a political deal to end the civil war, after Putin met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
“What was agreed was Iran and Russia will pursue one policy which will benefit Tehran, Moscow and Damascus,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The two countries are in “full harmony over Syria and Assad’s fate”, a second official said.
The US insistence that Assad must eventually go is backed by its European allies, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations who have long insisted that Assad must go, although there are disputes about when.
Ministers from 17 nations who were in New York to build momentum for a ceasefire said they would meet again next month. Among the difficult topics on the table are which groups should be allowed into the opposition tent and which should banned as terrorists; Jordan will lead development of the list.
Most parties to the conflict, from Assad to hardline opposition groups, are reliant to varying degrees on weapons, military support and cash from outside the country. Threats to withhold these should give the west and regional powers some leverage.
Even if the ceasefire is embraced by many armed groups, it will not end the fighting in Syria however, as there are no expectations that Isis at least would join.
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The would be Sultan has been exposed as a lying scumbag,as proof of his perfidy and bum-chumming with ISIS are exposed by a Western nation,Norway.
https://www.rt.com/news/326567-is-export-oil-turkey/
Most smuggled ISIS oil goes to Turkey, sold at low prices – Norwegian report
A newly-leaked report on illegal oil sales by Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL), which was ordered to be compiled by Norway, has revealed that most of the IS-smuggled oil has been destined for Turkey, where it is sold off at bargain low prices.
Norwegian daily Klassekampen leaked details of the report, which was put together by Rystad Energy, an independent oil and gas consulting firm, at the request of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.
“Large amounts of oil have been smuggled across the border to Turkey from IS-controlled areas in Syria and Iraq,” Klassekampen cited the report as saying. “[The] oil is sent by tankers via smuggling routes across the border [and] is sold at greatly reduced prices, from $25 to $45 a barrel.”
The crude is reportedly sold on the black market at greatly reduced prices, while the Brent benchmark is currently trading at $35-$50 per barrel.
READ MORE: Putin: ISIS financed from 40 countries, including G20 members
To compile the report, which is dated from July, Rystad Energy used its own database as well as sources in the region.
“Exports happen in a well-established black market via Turkey,” the report concluded. “Many of the smugglers and corrupt border guards, who helped Saddam Hussein avoid international sanctions, are now helping IS export oil and import cash.”
In the beginning of December, the Russian Defense Ministry released evidence which it said shows most of the illegal oil trade by IS going to Turkey.
© syria.mil.ruRussia presents proof of Turkey’s role in ISIS oil trade
Russia has earlier said it is aware of three main oil smuggling routes to Turkey, and Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov presented video evidence of operations, as well as detailed maps, at a briefing for journalists.
“Today, we are presenting only some of the facts that confirm that a whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region,” Antonov said, adding that this oil “in large quantities” enters the territory of Turkey via “live oil pipelines,” consisting of thousands of oil trucks.
The data directly implicated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the oil trade with IS. “According to our data, the top political leadership of the country – President Erdogan and his family – is involved in this criminal business.”
READ MORE: US unwilling to acknowledge Turkey-ISIS oil trade ‘smacks of direct patronage’ – Russian top brass
Ankara has denied the allegations. Erdogan said that nobody had a right to “slander” Turkey by accusing it of buying oil from Islamic State. Erdogan even claimed that he will resign if such accusations were proven to be true. Moreover, the US has defended Turkey, denying any ties between Ankara and IS.
Last October, US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said IS was earning $1 million a day from oil sales. “According to our information, as of last month, ISIL was selling oil at substantially discounted prices to a variety of middlemen, including some from Turkey, who then transported the oil to be resold. It also appears that some of the oil emanating from territory where ISIL operates has been sold to Kurds in Iraq, and then resold into Turkey,” he said.
According to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the middlemen in Turkey are not only entrepreneurs, but also Ankara officials. Turkey is protecting IS because of “direct financial interest of some Turkish officials relating to the supply of oil products refined by plants controlled by ISIS.”
These revelations come as the UN Security Council has passed a resolution strengthening legal measures against those doing business with terrorist groups. It stems from a UNSC action taken in February against illegal trafficking of antiquities from Syria, which threatened sanctions on anyone buying oil from IS or the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front and urged that no ransoms be paid to terrorists.
Published time: 20 Dec, 2015 06:45
