NATO: Russia Building Up Naval Presence, Ground Troop Numbers in Syria
(CNSNews.com) – NATO has observed a “substantial buildup” of Russian ground troops and a stepped-up Russian naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, the alliance’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Tuesday.
“I will not go into any specific numbers but I can confirm that we have seen a substantial build-up of Russian forces in Syria – air forces, air defenses but also then ground troops in connection with the air base they have,” he told reporters in Brussels.
“And we also see increased naval presence of Russian ships, naval capabilities outside Syria or the eastern part of the Mediterranean. So there has been a substantial military build-up of Russia with many different kinds of capabilities, forces, over the last weeks.”
Russia launched an air campaign in Syria a week ago, ostensibly targeting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) locations but, according to the U.S. and NATO, hitting other opposition groups as well, including some backed by the West.
“We see that the Russian air forces are not mainly attacking ISIL but other opposition groups including those who are fighting ISIL and, and also that many civilian lives have been lost,” Stoltenberg said Tuesday.
Russia has a Cold War-era naval station in Tartus and is using the Hmeymim airbase near Latakia for its air operation. During September U.S. officials reported a buildup of Russian military hardware at the airbase, including 28 jets, tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery pieces.
The Russian government has denied plans to deploy ground troops in Syria.
But on Monday the chairman of the security committee of the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, said it was likely that Russian “volunteers” may fight alongside Syrian forces. (Western skepticism met the Kremlin’s claims that uniformed Russians seen fighting alongside separatists in eastern Ukraine were “volunteers.”)
When the Federation Council at the end of September agreed to President Vladimir Putin’s request to use military force in Syria, its speaker, Valentina Matviyenko, made it clear that the authorization was for an air operation only.
“I will stress it – we are talking only about providing aviation support to the actions of the regular Syrian army,” the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted her as saying. “We are not talking about participating in the ground operation.”
But unnamed U.S. defense officials told CNN [1] this week that the Russians have been seen moving ground troops and artillery pieces in western Syria, apparently to support a Syrian ground offensive against anti-regime forces.
On Tuesday, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reiterated Moscow’s denials [2] about ground troops – including “volunteers.”
“I can repeat it officially once again: there are no official campaigns on participation in ground operations," she said. "No one officially recruits any volunteers.”
Zakharova said Russian politicians and lawmakers were free to express their opinions on the matter, but the official position is clear: “There are no and can be no ground operations, there are no and can be no land troops. And the Russia leaders have said it officially.”
Meanwhile Russia’s naval movements in the area – also referenced by Stoltenberg – are also stoking speculation.
In recent weeks, Russian media have reported on the deployment of various naval vessels to Syria and the eastern Mediterranean. They include the missile cruiser and Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva, the destroyer Smetlivy and landing ships, also from the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea.
The state-run Sputnik news agency Monday quoted the former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vladimir Komoyedov – now chairman of the defense committee of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma – as saying the fleet could be used to blockade the Syrian coast, to deliver armaments and military equipment, and possibly to carry out ship-to-shore artillery strikes. He conceded that the latter was unlikely, since “terrorist” locations were beyond artillery range.
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