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Ground ops in Syria very unlikely: Analyst

Monday, 15 February 2016 9:31 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 15 February 2016 9:57 AM ]

A militant fires a machine gun in Tal al-Aswan in the area of the eastern Ghouta, east of Damascus, during clashes with Syrian government forces, February 9, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Press TV has conducted an interview with Salah Lamrani, a blogger and Middle East expert, on Russia’s reaction to a proposal by Saudi Arabia and Turkey to dispatch ground troops into Syria.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: First of all, as far as the comments of Medvedev go, it seems Russia’s putting out a stark warning against the ground operation. Will this call be heeded though?

Lamrani: There is actually a risk that there will be some kind of ground operation in Syria; but it is very unlikely that it could come from either American forces or Saudi Arabian forces.

The only force that could do such a move is Turkey and there is some chances that this could happen; but actually, it is not likely that such a move could push things the way Turkey or the West wants them because Syria has clearly fallen out of the hands of the terrorists, and thanks to the Russian intervention, it doesn’t seem very likely that anything can turn the tide of events another way except for full global nuclear war, which is very not likely at the moment.

Press TV: Well, what was the goal of a ground invasion? …We’ve heard Israeli officials’ call for basically dividing Syria along sectarian lines. Now, this is a call that was made for Iraq as well. Do you think that a ground invasion would be basically geared towards a goal like that?

Lamrani: What we are seeing in the Middle East ever since Condoleezza Rice spoke about the birth pangs of a new Middle East in 2006, is precisely the West trying to divide all the great Arab and Muslim countries. But today, this seems delusional because everything is going in the direction of a resolution of the conflict, with the Syrian Arab Army being the main force around.

So, even if such thing is still the project of some delusional maniacs like Erdogan or maybe the Israeli government, this is very not likely that such a thing can happen right now. It’s just wishful thinking.

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