In recent weeks we have witnessed the Russian army entering into action in Syria. In 24 hours the Russian aviation bombed 60 of ISIS’ mains positions, in the meantime 8 US aircrafts bombed a hen house.
150 years after the Crimean war, Russia seems to be back on the rives of the Mediterranean Sea, but certainly not for the reasons assessed by the power in place. Putin isn’t the protector of the Christian minorities in place.
Debates in Europe about Russia, just like around TTIP have largely been motivated by fantasy. Let us for a moment forget Putin’s anti-gay policy, and his free interpretation on the freedom of the press principal, to concentrate on the regional situation in the Middle East.
The term ‘genocide’ to qualify what ISIS is doing shall not be discussed, because established by the UN, it clearly responds to a reality. Christians are systematically being killed because they are Christians, and their aim is to kill all Christians, (same thing for the Kurds).
Nevertheless attributing the Russian intervention to Putin humanistic views could seem a little too simple.
First we might want to remember that the Syrian regime, with Iran are the two main allies of Russia in the Region. The two Shiites regimes form the pillar of the Russian influence against America’s “allies” like Saudi Arabia; or on a much more probable scale Israel. Not only Syria which is a country with a majority of Sunnis could be lost, but its loss, which would benefit to a Shiite regime, was the intend of the Occidental from the beginning. Putin, who was lead into thinking that a democratic transition was possible in Libya, won’t be fooled again.
Protecting his allies is one thing; the Russian prime minister aim is also to counter American’s expansion in the Middle East. Moscow wants also to show, after the Ukraine crises, that it is indeed back in “the game”.
But Putin’s foreign policy has also interior aims; indeed it’s a propaganda aimed to make Russians forget the absolute disaster of his foreign and economical policy. The Russian economy is often compared by the French’s president F. Holland to a popularity poll. Inflation is at its highest, resulting also from capital evasion, with the fall of the currency.
Another unexpected reason: the oil price. Indeed Russian’s oil, in order to be worth extracting has to be sold between 80 and 90 $ in barrel. And the war is, or is supposed to have an impact on the barrel’s price, according to the Russian government.
Another issue raised by the government is that the 7000 Russian just might be fighting for ISIS, and they just my come back ill-intentioned.
Putin is not the Christianity’s defender, or if he really is we might want to see it as a side effect, he is acting in a Machiavellian way continuing his policy through different methods: war.
by Ghislain d’Andlau
