Russia Sends Two Squadrons Of Ships To Syria
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
12/18/2012
Several days ago, various media outlets misinterpreted a statement out of Russia, in which it was said that Assad may be defeated by the local Al Qaeda-funded and US-supported rebels, and which many took as an indication that the geopolitics in the Middle East may be shifting as Russian support of Syria was ending. Turns out nothing could be further from the truth, and moments ago the AP reports that a “Russian navy squadron has set off for the Mediterranean” with destination Syria. The official point of the exercise: evacuation. The unofficial: anything but. “The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the ships will rotate with those that have been in the area since November. Russian diplomats said last week that Moscow is preparing plans to evacuate thousands of Russians from Syria if necessary. The ministry did not say whether the navy ships are intended for an evacuation.” Remember that “evacuation” was the pretext when Russia also sent the Grand Missile Cruiser Moskva off the Gaza coast last month at the height of the latest escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict. The pretext then? “Evacuation” too. Why anyone would send their Black Sea Navy flag ship to ‘evacuate’ a few hundred citizens, all of whom are perfectly proficient with instructions on how to board a plane, is of course, anyone guess.
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