NATO-Syria: the lion is ready to jump

However, a number of experts believe that today the use of such a weapon is technically impossible for Syria.

Nevertheless, these days, warnings from the NATO leadership and the chief Atlantic partner of the Alliance simply follow each other. According to Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in case Damascus uses chemical weapons, an “immediate reaction of the world community” will follow. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted her country would not leave the use of such weapons “against the Syrian people” unpunished. At a press-conference, Head of the White House Barack Obama spoke about inevitable “consequences” for the Assad regime, if it dares to cross the so-called “red line”. And according to President Obama, this means not only the use of the chemical weapons, but also the situation when it falls into the hands of terrorists.

At the same time, it is interesting that, according to news agencies, in the next few days, the US authorities decided to include the Al-Nusra Front fighting against al-Assad in the list of terrorist organizations. As it turned out, it is a division of the al-Qaeda. But even without it, passions are running high. For example, the American Fox News TV channel reported these days with reference to sources in the presidential administration that Damascus was ready to use the poison gas sarin. As this chemical mixture only lasts two months before it is no longer effective, we should expect the use of this weapon in the near future. And according to the NBC TV Company, dozens of Syrian bombs are already loaded with sarin, and pilots are only waiting for orders.

The German “Frankfurter Rundschau”, with reference to American sources, writes that the Pentagon had conducted war games practicing actions in case of a military invasion in Syria. According to the same newspaper, part of the US special forces are deployed in Syria’s neighbor Jordan, and CIA agents on Syrian territory coordinate actions of the opposition’s detachments.

According to some data, the newspaper writes, the Pentagon has determined the number of the invading forces at about 75,000 servicemen; and now they are specifying the plans of the ground operation. At the same time, German and Dutch anti-aircraft Patriot missile complexes are being deployed on the Turkish-Syrian border.

Deputy Chairman of the Left Party and expert on foreign policy of this party’s faction in the Bundestag Jan van Aken (Germany) called the departure of the Patriot complexes and Bundeswehr service personnel to Turkey “sheer madness”. In an interview with the Voice of Russia he very sharply spoke about the escalation of tensions around Syria.

“NATO's intervention in Syria will very quickly grow into a war. This will inevitably provoke a situation like in Iraq, where the civil war lasts for years. In any case, by making this decision, NATO should think about possible consequences. I believe that any military intervention in the Syrian conflict will be an utter catastrophe for Syria”.

Head of the Center of International Security of the Russian Institute of World Economy and International Relations, academician Alexei Arbatov is still hopeful that a war can be avoided.

“NATO is extremely reluctant to intervene", Alexei Arbatov says. “But the weapons of mass destruction are quite another point. If there is information that the Syrian government uses this weapon, then a strike and a special operation are possible. But in this case, the situation may become unpredictable. Neither Turkey nor NATO wants it. All sharp statements are compensated by the unwillingness to conduct military actions”.

Meanwhile, News Agencies with reference to the official sources reported that in the coming days, the United States intends to recognize the National Coalition of the Syrian opposition as the legitimate representative of the people. It has already been officially recognized by all 27 countries of the “Big Europe”. What's next?

Hype over Syrian chemical threat a pretext for invasion

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has accused the West of exploiting the issue of Syrian chemical weapons to justify a future military invasion.

He vowed there was no way the Syrian government would use chemical weapons in an internal conflict.

Mr. Mekdad told a Syrian al-Manar TV channel Western media hype over the regime’s weapon stockpile was a part of “psychological warfare against Damascus.”

He said the US, Turkey, Israel and Persian Gulf countries were all involved in an anti-Syria conspiracy, which is now tittering on the brink of collapse. Therefore they are resorting to ever more dirty tricks to press Syria, he added.

FOX news says Syria has chemical weapons

Citing an "unnamed senior official" of the U.S. administration, US FOX News has reported that the Syrian authorities have prepared chemical weapons and are ready to use them.

According to FOX Sarin Gas was produced and is ready for use. FOX claims the mixture is only good for two months so they say the weapons will be used in the near future.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian authorities will serve as a "red line" which, if crossed, will be followed by the “punishment” of President Bashar al-Assad.

Russian MFA says US realized terror threat in Syria

By listing Syria’s Jabhat al Nusra as a terrorist group, the US has shown it has become aware of the surging terror threat to the region, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has said.

“The fact the US has finally added Jabhat al Nusra to its list of international terrorist groups means it's come to realize what threat a surging terror activity poses to Syria,” Mr. Gatilov tweeted Thursday.

He said the major stumbling stone hid in drawing the line between terror groupings and Syrian opposition, adding their reluctance to sit down at the negotiating table was what united both warring parties.

Jabhat al Nusra is reportedly affiliated with al-Qaeda. In October 2012, the grouping claimed responsibility for a string of deadly blasts that struck downtown Aleppo killing dozens.

Voice of Russia, TASS, Interfax