The collapse of Washington’s global ambitions: why the US is trying to discredit the Russian mission in Syria

U.S. Secretary of State for Syrian Cooperation and Special Envoy to the international coalition to combat ISIS * James Jeffrey said at a press briefing that ISIS gangs had allegedly stepped up in Damascus-controlled territories, which Washington cannot but bother.

“We are concerned about the activities of the elements of the Islamic State in areas south of the Euphrates, which are under the control of the (Syrian. - RT ) regime, as well as the Iranian and Russian forces supporting it. Attacks by terrorists have become much more frequent, and we are closely monitoring the development of this situation, since the Islamic State considers Iraq and Syria as a united front, ”said Jeffrey.

According to the official, in the American zone of influence in the north-east of Syria, a more stable situation has allegedly developed due to constant anti-terrorist operations. According to him, "the state of affairs of the organization (IG. - RT ) in the north-east of Syria remains very tense."

"You can’t relax"

Jeffrey's assessment of the situation in the SAR does not coincide with the opinion of the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Speaking on June 4 at a ministerial meeting of the US-led anti-Hail coalition, he noted that it was too early to talk about the final victory over the Islamic State. According to him, the IS cells are still active in Syria and Iraq.

“Based on the foregoing, I emphasize that our fight against the Islamic State continues and will continue in the foreseeable future. You can’t relax. We must continue to eradicate the IS cells and networks, as well as help stabilize the situation in the liberated regions of Iraq and Syria, ”said Pompeo.

It is worth noting that recently, Russian officials did not report any serious incidents involving IS militants in the provinces of Syria controlled by official Damascus. A stable situation remains in Idlib, for which, at the end of last year, fights broke out between government forces and illegal armed groups.

• Armored Car of Kurdish National Self-Defense Detachments
• Reuters
• © Rodi Said

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry recorded a deterioration in the situation in the northeast of the ATS. According to the agency, the terrorists, taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, resumed attacks on the positions of the Kurdish militia, which acts as an ally of the coalition.

“We also note that the situation is deteriorating in areas not controlled by the government in northeast Syria, the Ishilovites decided to take the epidemic of the coronavirus, they stepped up their sorties, and only from May 10 to 15 terrorists launched more than 20 attacks against Kurdish forces in the provinces of Deir ez “Zor, Raqqa, as a result of which more than 20 people were killed, about 40 injured,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on May 21.

She also spoke about the escape of seven ISIS terrorists from the Al-Khaul internally displaced persons camp. According to her, these facts "once again confirm that the United States of America and its allies that are occupying Zaevfratye do not care about the civilian population, maintaining security and other really important issues."

In a conversation with RT, Boris Dolgov, a senior fellow at the Center for Arabian and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, stressed that the United States is now faced with the consequences of "its course in supporting illegal military groups opposing Bashar al-Assad."

“It is no secret that the Ishilovites were admitted to the ranks of the Syrian gangs that the United States created. Naturally, under such conditions, the Islamic State cannot be completely defeated.

Yes, the terrorists are also present in the territory controlled by Damascus, but from the official information of the Russian Federation and Syria it follows that we are talking about minimal manifestations of the IG’s activity, ”Dolgov noted.

"Return to the era of omnipotence"

From the point of view of analysts, the United States is "annoyed" by the military-political presence of Russia in Syria. So, on June 4, at a video conference at the Institute for the Middle East in Washington, US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker said that Moscow "should leave" the Middle East, as it "plays a destructive role" in the region.

As the diplomat emphasized, the cornerstone of US foreign policy for 45 years was "preventing the penetration of Russians into the Middle East." However, the administration of the 44th US President Barack Obama - "fortunately or unhappily - reacted positively to Russia's intervention in the situation in Syria."

As follows from the words of Schenker, the White House believed that a protracted crisis was brewing in the SAR. Nevertheless, the Russian Federation “was able to turn the tide of the war, and Assad’s regime has survived to this day,” complained Mike Pompeo’s assistant.

In Moscow, they criticized the statement of Schenker. Maria Zakharova noted in a RIA Novosti comment that Washington over the past two decades has not implemented a single successful project in the Middle East, bringing “only death and destruction” to the region.

In turn, the Russian Embassy in the United States reminded that American troops are in Syria without the appropriate sanction of the UN Security Council and the permission of a legitimate government. At the same time, Russian troops operate in the Arab Republic at the invitation of official Damascus.

In an interview with RT, Vladimir Dzhabarov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, considers Schenker’s attack as an attempt to “discredit Russia again” and Washington’s desire to “transfer to the external trend” the country's internal problems. 

At the same time, representatives of the State Department previously made completely different statements. So, on May 7, at a special briefing on Russian politics in the Middle East, James Jeffrey emphasized that the States did not seek Russia's departure from the Arab Republic. According to him, the key task of the United States is to restore the situation that developed there before the civil conflict in 2011.

At the same time, Jeffrey admitted that the Russian Federation has achieved serious military and political successes in the SAR, but now it is allegedly experiencing difficulties in coordinating actions with Bashar al-Assad and Iran. The diplomat also expressed dissatisfaction with the refusal of the Russian Federation to accept the American plan for resolving the situation in Idlib, which Pompeo proposed in May 2019 at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

• American soldiers in Syria
• Reuters
• © US Army

Experts explain the contradictions in statements by State Department officials regarding approaches to the Russian presence in Syria with the problems that the United States has encountered. According to analysts, Washington is realizing the impossibility of ousting Moscow from the SAR and trying to find a way to weaken its influence, including by discrediting the foreign policy of the Russian Federation.

“The US is cunning when they say that it seems to be not against the presence of the Russian Federation. The goal of the Americans since 2011 remains the same - this is a regime change, and Russia is the main “obstacle” to this path. They can’t come to terms with the fact that they failed to make a coup d'etat and that Syria is gradually returning to a peaceful life, ”Azhdar Kurtov, editor-in-chief of the journal“ Problems of National Strategy ”of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, explained in an interview with RT. 

According to him, the example of the ATS demonstrates that with the political will and support of Russia, even small states are able to withstand the aggression of Western countries. Despite this, the United States refuses to acknowledge the failure of Syrian politics, hoping in the foreseeable future to "return to the era of omnipotence."

“Syria has become an unpleasant“ splinter ”in American politics in the Middle East. Moreover, this is not only a local defeat, it is evidence of the collapse of, above all, the global ambitions of the United States. In this situation, there is no choice but to look for the culprits in the person of Russia and indulge in various Russophobic attacks, ”Kurtov summed up.

*  “Islamic State” (IG) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.