PRESS RELEASE
Russian Parliamentarian Calls for New ‘Non-NATO’ Anti-Terror Coalition To Wipe Out ISIS
Aug. 19, 2016 (EIRNS)—Pointing today to China’s recent announcement that it will expand its military cooperation with the Syrian government, Adm. Vladimir Komoedov, the chairman of the Russian Duma’s Defense Committee, said that the time has come to form an anti-terrorism coalition that is not aligned with "the aggressive NATO," TASS reported.
Earlier this week, Rear Adm. Guan Youfei of China’s Office of International Military Cooperation met with Syria’s Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Frejj in Damascus, and agreed to strengthen their cooperation. China is ready to increase personnel training and humanitarian aid to Syria, UPI.com reported.
Speaking with reporters this morning, Adm. Komoedov asserted that,
"the Chinese military in Syria is the first step toward putting together a serious military-coalition dominated by countries that are not aligned with the aggressive NATO bloc."
Were Russia, China, India and Iran to join efforts in the Middle East, he explained, the problem of liquidating the Islamic State and affiliated terrorist organizations, "could be resolved within a year." Nor is it just an issue of these countries’ powerful military potential, he added, but also "their serious political influence." They all share common interests in the region, as "peace and stability in the Middle East is needed" for economic and political stability throughout Europe and Asia.
Thus, Adm. Komoedov remarked,
"that is why other countries could join the coalition that we are discussing. I am glad that at last, there is an understanding on the issue at the highest international level."
There is much head-scratching and fear-mongering in Western media about the meaning of China’s heightened interest in Syria, not the least of which is the fact, as The Fiscal Times worries Aug. 18, that China’s involvement "necessarily requires greater cooperation between Beijing and Moscow." Combined with Russia’s use of an Iranian air base to launch missiles against ISIS, this poses "a major conundrum for Obama."
Alexander Lomanov, a professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Far Eastern Studies, put it this way in remarks referenced by Russia Beyond the Headlines today: "It’s about what Xi Jinping termed as the new diplomacy of a super power ‘with a Chinese accent.’"
