Israeli airstrikes in Syria “could lead to a region-wide war,” according to Russia, which accused the United States and Israel of chancing a conflict in their war-torn client state.
“These actions by the Israeli side are a gross violation of the sovereignty of the [Syrian Arab Republic] and the basic rules of international law,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. “Such military actions are fraught with extremely dangerous consequences, since they could lead to a region-wide armed escalation.”
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Russia regards Syria as an important client, with Russian forces having deployed alongside Iran in order to preserve President Bashar Assad’s regime in recent years during the Syrian civil war. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have made arrangements to enable Israel, which fears an expansion of Iranian military power on their borders, to conduct numerous airstrikes against Iranian positions throughout those years without sparking a clash between Israeli and Russian forces.
“It’s deflection meant to confuse diplomats while all Russia cares about is defending its proxies,” American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Michael Rubin told the Washington Examiner. “Perhaps the Syrians are basically saying, ‘How come you don't have our back?’ And this is Russia's way of appeasing the Syrians, to [allow them to] say, ‘OK, we're gonna say the right things, but that's all you're gonna get.’ I mean, it could just as easily be Russia. Trying to check the box and shut Assad up.”
Israel Defense Forces officials have declined to confirm or deny the reported airstrikes. “We do not comment on foreign media reports,” IDF Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler said on Thursday.
Putin has blamed Israel and the United States for the latest Hamas terror attack.
“Part of the land that Palestinians have always considered as originally belonging to them has been occupied by Israel at different times and in different ways, but for the most part, obviously, through military force,” the Kremlin strongman said Wednesday. “Also, the settlement policy and certain other aspects have ultimately led to this explosion of violence."
Russia’s condemnation of the airport strikes coincided with a surge in Russian government criticism of American policy in Syria, including the claim that U.S. forces are violating “deconfliction protocols” with Russia.
"Aircraft of the so-called international counterterrorism coalition, led by the United States, continue to create dangerous situations above Syria, performing flights that violate deconfliction protocols and the airspace of Syria," Russian Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit claimed on Thursday. “They were all related to flights of UAVs that were not coordinated with the Russian side.”
Kulit claimed that those purported violations involved “two pairs of Rafale fighters, a pair of F-16 fighter jets,” and a pair of Predator drones. Pentagon officials released video in July of Russian fighter jets harassing U.S. drones in Syria, including by dropping flares in the path of the unmanned aircraft.
Western air forces have operated in Syria under the auspices of the U.S.-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State, which assembled in 2014 as ISIS terrorists rampaged out of Syria and into Iraq during the Syrian civil war. Russia and Iran have fought to prop up Assad in that war while claiming that the U.S.-led coalition, which partnered with Syrian Kurdish fighters to dismantle the would-be caliphate, is in league with ISIS.
“The jihadists receive information about the locations and routes of movement of the Syrian army and Russian troops,” Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergey Naryshkin claimed Thursday.
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Russia’s struggles during the protracted war in Ukraine will prevent Putin from providing substantial military support to Assad or Iran’s proxies, according to Rubin, who suggested that Israel is trying to eliminate threats in case the war expands.
“We’re on the verge of a regional war,” the AEI analyst said. “And Israel is making sure that none of the assets of states which are sitting on the fence, but leaning towards joining in can be used against it.”