Russia’s intransigence on Syria leaves Arabs sour
‘The prospect of confrontation between the US and Russia has reached the point of no return,’ warns Saudi news site
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleElhanan Miller is the former Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
Russia’s refusal to allow a no-fly zone over Syria occupies the headlines of most major Arab dailies on Tuesday, with one news site reporting on a looming confrontation between Russia and the US over the matter.
“Moscow refuses a no-fly zone, and G-8 leaders criticize it,” reads the headline of Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat, based in London. The daily elaborates on the critical Western reactions to Russia’s position emanating from the leaders of France, the UK and Canada. The daily quotes Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying the G-8 has effectively become the G7+1.
“Wall-to-wall criticism of Moscow in the G-8 summit,” declares London-based daily Al-Hayat, featuring a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin standing next to French Prime Minister Francois Hollande at the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland.
“Most participants in the summit directed criticism at Moscow for supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad in the battle he has been waging for over two years to crush the Syrian uprising,” reads the daily.
In a separate article, Al-Hayat reports that imposition of a no-fly zone is currently not on NATO’s agenda, according to the US ambassador to the alliance.
But the Saudi-owned daily Elaph reports Tuesday that according to information it received, a Western decision on the no-fly zone is imminent.
The daily reports that the main countries backing a no-fly zone and the establishment of a buffer zone in southern Syria are the US, the UK and France as well as their Middle Eastern allies Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
“The prospect of confrontation between the US and Russia has reached the point of no return as the tension on the ground in Syria worsens,” says Elaph.
London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, noticeably more sympathetic to Assad than the rest, opens its article with Assad’s warning that Europe will pay the price for arming the opposition with terror attacks on its territory.
The bulk of the article is dedicated to Assad’s comments on the West, with relatively little on the West’s criticism of Assad.
Qatari news channel Al-Jazeera‘s headline reads “Obama and Putin disagree on Syria and agree on Geneva,” a reference to the proposed summit on a Syria’s future.
Al-Quds Al-Arabi dedicates its editorial on Tuesday to Hamas’s political predicament following the Syrian uprising. When leaving Damascus in early 2012, the Palestinian Islamic movement expected the Assad regime to fall within weeks as did the rulers of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. But its resilience surprised many in the West and in the Arab world, writes the editor.
“Hamas’s reliance on the Sunni camp — led by countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey — has brought about the collapse of its ties with the Syrian-Iranian axis, its basic source of financial and military support over the past 20 years at least. It has also led to the deterioration of its strategic alliance with Hezbollah, which provided a substantial umbrella for it not only in Lebanon but in the Gaza Strip as well, supplying training and weapons.”
“Hamas has clearly decided to cut all of its ties with its old allies and join the ‘moderate’ camp which is close to America. All its attempts to deny the alliance with America will be met with doubt, even if the denial is true.”
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The Times of Israel Community.