The International game of tit-for-tat seems to continue.
Poland and the US signed the missile "defense" -deal, now Russia has said that there will be other than diplomatic "action".
Today the President of Syria is in Moscow and he wants more weapons.
More after the flip.
TimesOnline:
Syria sought to revive its security alliance with Russia today, when President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Moscow to clinch a series of military agreements, raising fears that the new Cold War that has erupted in the Caucasus will spill over into the Middle East.
"Our position is that we are ready to co-operate with Russia in any project that can strengthen its security," the Syrian leader told Russian newspapers at the start of his two-day trip. "I think Russia really has to think of the response it will make when it finds itself closed in a circle."
Syria has old Soviet equipment and Russia could help to modernize the Syrian army. Syria doesn't really have much to offer:
Anthony Cordesman, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, itemizes some of these problems in a paper published just today. For example, take those 4,700 tanks. About 2,000 of them are 1960s-vintage T-55s, another 1,000 only slightly newer T-62s, both models from the USSR and utterly useless in modern combat. About 1,700 are T-72s, from the 1970s and '80s, but many of those are embedded in static defensive positions, and none have received much in the way of spare parts or maintenance since the Soviet Union went under.
You can read more about the Syrian army from the same Slate article.
The Russian could be after this:
In return, Moscow is expected to propose a revival of its Cold War era naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean. Some Russian reports even suggest that Moscow is deepening the port it to accommodate a fleet of warships. Russia may have similar ambitions for Latakia. Either port would give the Russian Navy its foothold in the Mediterranean for two decades.
More info about Tartushere.
Russia could try to get a naval base located in Syria. This would have some benefits, but the Russian navy is very weak. Perhaps a base for submarines? It would be waste of money for the Russians to develop a large surface fleet.
For Syria this could bring some freedom for political manouvers. Getting more Russian support could make the Iranian influence less strong, let's remember that Syria and Israel have been having some secret negotiations.
And just in case you did not know this:
Syria is a major importer of Russian arms.
Tatneft, one of Russia's top 10 oil producers, is carrying out geological prospecting in Syria and is to drill six exploratory wells in the country under a 2005 contract.
The good old Oil.And guns.
The Jpost has something to calm you:
Despite speculation that this visit could up the ante in the region, from Syria's perspective, bolstering defense ties with Russia is entirely defensive, Dr. Samir A-Taqi, director of the Damascus-based Orient Center for Studies said.
"It's mainly repelling dangers more than anything else," he told The Media Line. "The balance of force in the region is broken and a restoration of balance would be positive to allow and convince different belligerents to come to the table. The Syrians are fighting to negotiate," he said.