US-Russia encounters in Syria driven by US desire to revive conflict: Analyst

By Ali Ghorban Bagheri

A series of recent close encounters between American and Russian aircraft in Syria shows Washington seeks to revive the conflict in the Arab country, says a political analyst.

Ali Hassan Mourad, a political commentator from Lebanon, made these remarks in an interview with the Press TV website, referring to a series of incidents since late July in which Russian aircraft intercepted American drones in Syria.

The latest incident occurred on Saturday when two US MQ-9 Reaper drones were intercepted by Russian aircraft. On Sunday, a senior Russian military official accused the US-led coalition in Syria of flying its drones dangerously close to Russian fighter jets over Syria.

The US, which has hundreds of troops in Syria, put the blame on Russians for “provocations.”  

Syria, which deems the American forces as occupiers looting the country’s rich oil resources, has repeatedly protested against US aircraft violating its airspace.

Mourad said the American claim that their drones have been targeting Al-Qaeda-linked groups in northwestern Syria holds no water, adding that they fly past Russian aircraft in a bid to provoke Russia into reaction.

“Since last March, the US has been pretending that Russia is making provocative moves in Syria. General Michael Kurilla, the commander of the US Central Command, at the time, told the Congress in a hearing in March that Russian aircraft take action against US installations in Syria,” the Lebanese analyst told the Press TV website.

“I believe these statements are not accurate, as evidence shows the US is making provocative moves. A clear example happened in late June when joint Russian-Syrian air force drills were ongoing in Syria, Americans deployed their drones to the skies where the drills were being held. They knew that Russians would react to such hostile moves.”

Mourad further stated that the US and NATO, having failed to achieve their goals in Ukraine, have decided to transfer the battle (against Russia) to Syria.

“The fact is Americans created the war in Ukraine and forced Russia to react to their provocations. Now that Washington and NATO have failed to achieve objectives in Ukraine and clearly suffered a defeat, the US has apparently decided to heat up the conflict in Syria,” he said.

He hastened to add that the US aims to stop a wave of normalization deals between Arab governments and Syria by reviving the conflict in Syria and escalating the pressure campaign against the Syrian government.

The commentator also cited the US plan to deploy a number of F-22 warplanes to Jordan and speculation over the revival of foreign-backed militants and Kurdish forces in eastern parts of the country.

Mourad said the suspicious US activities in Syria are also linked to other developments across the region, as well as the growing US rivalry with China and Russia.

“Americans seek to undermine the presence of Russia and China in Western Asia, particularly after the China-brokered normalization deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” he told the Press TV website.

The analyst said another manifestation of the US policy is evident in Yemen, where he said the US is preventing a settlement of the conflict and seeks to make Saudi Arabia obey its dictates.

“The US is trying to exert power to stop the pro-independence activities in the region, whether they are done by regional powers or by Russia or China,” he noted.

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