Ukraine, Nato rebuke Putin on Syria

The Ukrainian president, and a top Nato general, have accused Russia of trying to hoodwink the international community on Syria.

Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko i told the UN assembly in New York on Tuesday (29 September) that Russia's proposal to join Western powers in a new anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition is a "cool story, but really hard to believe".

He noted that Russia has, for the past year and a half, "conducted an open and unprovoked aggression against my country".

He said Russia, in order to "mislead the world community … takes off the insignias of its military servicemen and the identification marks of its military equipment".

"The goal of this war is to force the Ukrainian people to give up its sovereign choice to build a free, democratic, prosperous European state", he noted.

"How can you urge an anti-terrorist coalition, if you inspire terrorism right in front of your door?", he asked.

Referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin i’s clandestine military build-up in Syria over the past month, he said: "These days Russian 'men in green' tread on Syrian land. What or who is next?".

Poroshenko's speech comes after Putin, on Monday, secured US agreement to join forces against IS as part of a broad coalition.

US leader, Barack Obama i, noted that this does not mean an end to sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.

But images of the two men shaking hands, and fresh comments by Italy and Hungary that the EU should rebuild Russia relations, have prompted concern that the Syria coalition will lead to lowering of Western pressure on the Ukraine conflict.

The new coalition comes after Russia quietly deployed some 24 fighter jets and helicopters at a base in Latakia, on Syria's Mediterranean Coast.

Putin has said that the aircraft could join Western strikes on IS targets, in support of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s ground troops.

But for his part, Philip Breedlove, Nato's top military commander, noted the Latakia build-up has nothing to do with IS.

He told a meeting of the German Marshall Fund, a US think tank, on Monday, that Russia is also installing high-tech air defences at the site.

"As we see the very capable air defense [systems] beginning to show up in Syria, we're a little worried about another A2/AD bubble being created in the eastern Mediterranean", he noted.

"These very sophisticated air defence capabilities are not about [IS], they're about something else … high on Mr. Putin's list in Syria is preserving the regime against those that are putting pressure on the regime".

A2/AD is military jargon for "anti-access/area denial" - weapons systems which deter Nato air or naval assets from entering a combat zone.

Breedlove noted that Russia already has A2/AD structures in the Baltic Sea and Black Sea regions, depicting Putin's Syria move as an expansion of Russian influence rather than a counter-terrorism initiative.

Putin's idea that Assad, his main Middle East ally, should be kept in power to help defeat IS, has gained traction in some EU capitals, notably Berlin, but not Paris.

But for his part, the EU Council president, Donald Tusk i, told the UN on Tuesday that the refugees coming to Europe are fleeing Assad just as much as they are fleeing IS.

"Today the circle of proponents of the idea that Bashar al-Assad should be part of Syria's transition is growing", he noted.

"Yet we cannot forget that millions of people have fled his horrific methods of trying to secure stability in Syria. During my trips to the region, I was told that Assad's victory would only lead to another exodus".