Russia’s Strategy in Syria

The Red Cross says it has been refused permission to deliver aid to the Baba Amr district of the bombed-out Syrian city of Homs, despite earlier getting the go-ahead from the authorities.

ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger said the hold-up was “unacceptable”.

The delay has given rise to opposition allegations that government forces were trying to get rid of evidence of summary killings.

Baba Amr has suffered heavy bombardment by government forces in recent weeks.

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said on Thursday it was leaving the district in a “tactical withdrawal”.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron told Syria’s “criminal regime” that it must face justice “for the blood that is on your hands”.

He warned supporters of President Bashar Assad to turn their backs on their leader or face “a day of reckoning” for their involvement.

Speaking in Brussels, he also urged Russia and China to look hard at the suffering in Syria and reconsider their support for the Syrian government.

Host Aaron Schachter talks to Russian political analyst Dmitry Babich in Moscow, about the Russian government’s position on Syria.

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Aaron Schachter: I’m Aaron Schachter, this is The World. A Red Cross humanitarian convoy has reached the besieged Syrian city of Homs, but Red Cross officials say Syrian authorities are denying the convoy access to Baba Amr, that’s the rebel-held neighborhood that’s been heavily bombarded by the Syrian government. It’s impossible to determine the number of people killed or wounded during the month-long siege, and there are reports that the violence in Homs isn’t over. The White House today issued a statement condemning the horrific brutality in Homs over the last couple of days, and British Prime Minister David Cameron echoed that sentiment.

David Cameron: The history of Homs is being written in the blood of its citizens. The situation there is truly terrible. It is a scene of medieval barbarity, so I have a clear message for those in authority in Syria: Make a choice, turn your back on this criminal regime or face justice for the blood that is on your hands.

Schachter: Cameron also urged Russia and China to rethink their support of the Syrian government. For a Russian view we turn to Dmitry Babich. He’s a political analyst for the state-run Voice of Russia in Moscow. Babich rejects western criticism of Russia’s position.

Dmitry Babich: The fact that Russia vetoed the UN resolution that put the blame squarely on the Syrian government doesn’t mean that Russia promotes violence in Syria. Actually, Russia called for the violence to be stopped on all sides, both on the side of the insurgents and on the side of the government.

Schachter: Are you saying that both sides are equally to blame here?

Babich: Well, at least there is violence on both sides and according to the official reports at least 2,000 security personnel of the Syrian Armed Forces were also killed. So obviously it’s not just an evil government butchering innocent civilians, it’s also Sunni or radical insurgents with some experience from Libya, Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda fighting the government forces.

Schachter: Okay, I appreciate that argument that civilians have been killed by both sides, but the anti-government forces were faced by a pretty stark choice weren’t they? When they protested peacefully they were killed by government troops, that’s what we were told, those were the videos we saw. And when they attempted to defend themselves with weapons as you say, their neighborhoods were shelled. What would you have them do?

Babich: Well, the problem is that Syria did not have terrorist attacks until last year. I’m not very assured by the fact that we see actually their position in Syria using suicide bombers. That’s the handwriting of al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremists.

Schachter: So it sounds like what you’re suggesting is that Russia is just not taking sides.

Babich: Russia is basically appalled by this perspective that the so-called international community, which is actually Saudi Arabia and Qatar on this side, would create safe havens for an insurgent movement inside a sovereign country. And inside these safe havens they would be supplied with weapons.

Schachter: But Russia has supplied arms or resupplied the government of Syria, has it not? In just the last few weeks a shipment with military supplies docked in Syria.

Babich: Well, Russia was selling weapons to the Syrian government officially on official contracts like many other governments did, and insurgents is quite a different story.

Schachter: There is a lot of talk around the world about Russia being “on the wrong side of history” and this was something that was said with regards to Libya as well. Would you suggest what happened in Libya was being on the right side of history? The dictatorship was ended and they’re going about building a country, and how does that relate to Syria?

Babich: Well, just yesterday I read a UN report that three quarters of the prisoners of war that the rebels in Libya took during the war, they’re still held in custody, and they have been tortured and they have been systematically killed. So to say that the dictatorship in Libya is ended, I think 1) dictatorship ended, but another that may be a more terrible one has started, and I don’t want it to repeat itself in Syria. And I think it’s quite understandable, it should be understandable for the people in the United States.

Schachter: Dmitry Babich is political analyst for Voice of Russia state-run radio. Dmitry, thank you so much.

Babich: Thank you for your questions.

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