Russian warships to visit Syria, Itar-Tass says

[jakeXT]

By Steve Gutterman

MOSCOW Jan 6 (Reuters) - Two Russian warships are expected to arrive in Syria on Saturday, the state-run Itar-Tass news agency reported, a visit that will likely be seen as a show of force and a display of support for President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and the frigate Yaroslav Mudry are scheduled to put in at Russia's naval maintenance and supply facility in the Syrian port of Tartus, Itar-Tass cited an unnamed representative of the navy's general staff as saying.

The official said the vessels, part of a group of Russian ships currently in the Mediterranean, were expected to spend several days at the Tartus facility, one of the Russian navy's few outposts abroad.

Russia has maintained support for the increasingly isolated Assad during a nearly 10-month-old uprising against his rule. The United Nations estimates the government crackdown has killed more than 5,000 people.

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL6E8C62MF20120106

[tabatha]

1. Apparently, one of these is an old rusty bucket.

[jakeXT]

2. I guess a naval maintenance and supply facility

is the right place to be....

[Angleae]

11. Only one?

"rusty bucket" pretty much defines the entire russian surface fleet these days.

[tabatha]

12. Yes, that is probably correct.

That is why they are setting a repair yard in Syria.

[Posteritatis]

14. Now now, some of them are leaky buckets instead. (nt)

[David__77]

3. Good news.

They should send more than two, to make clear that Russia will honor its security agreements with Syria. Russia should join with others to strengthen and expand the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as a force to counter the aggressive, nation-destroying NATO.

[Purveyor]

4. +1

[AverageJoe90]

6. Fuck that.

Even Medvedev can't get his f***ing priorities straight.

[David__77]

8. Putin might be a bit better than Medvedev, but not much.

Russia isn't very good at playing a positive role. Putin at least says the right things sometimes.

[AverageJoe90]

10. I agree, but I think Medvedev is better than Putin.....but not too much so. nt

[pampango]

7. Security agreements pertain to military conflict with other countries, not to repression of

a country's people. This isn't Hungary in 1956 or Czechoslovakia in 1968 when Soviet troops put down popular resistance to its friendly governments.

[David__77]

9. No it's very different.

That is true. Defending Syria from external interference would be quite different than, say, the Soviet imperialists subjugating Czechoslovakia.

[madrchsod]

5. big deal...russia lost the middle east a long time ago.

[Centrik]

13. Heck

I'm suprised their warships are even capable of staying afloat.

[riderinthestorm]

15. Any blatant militaristic posturing by the biggies, in this region, is a problem imho.

I don't care if it's two rusty buckets, the intention is to ramp up tensions. Israel won't take much shit before lashing out.

The behind-the-scenes diplomatic maneuvering must be going very badly. I don't see this as a good sign at all.

[Centrik]

16. Neither do I ....

and someone's sooner, or later is going to do something stupid and start a war.