Bowie
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- Sep 17, 2016
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The Spanish government's announcement that is reviewing a request from Moscow to refuel the Russian flotilla heading for Syria is a welcome, if belated, gesture of solidarity with its Nato allies.
The fleet of Russian warships, headed by the ageing aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, is believed to be heading for the Syrian coast where it is expected to join the Russian military's onslaught against Syrian rebel groups based in the northern city of Aleppo.
The ferocity of the Russian bombardment of Aleppo, in which the Russians have been accused of dropping banned weapons such as napalm and cluster bombs on civilian targets, has resulted in the US and British governments accusing Moscow of committing war crimes in Syria.
Thus the Spanish government's initial offer to refuel the Russian flotilla in the Spanish-controlled enclave of Ceuta - Spain's equivalent of Gibraltar - meant it was, in effect, offering its support to a country that is not only breaching international law, but acting contrary to the interests of the Nato alliance.
Most of the leading Nato powers are involved in supporting the Syrian rebels in their efforts to overthrow the regime of President Assad, as well as defeating the militants of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Even Turkey, the most problematic member of the Nato alliance, is providing support for the US-led coalition's campaign against Isil.
Russia, on the other hand, is fighting to keep the Assad regime in power, which meant that the Spanish government's offer to refuel the Russian flotilla was completely at odds with its status as a Nato member.
The Spanish have always had a problem trying to work out whose side they are on in times of conflict. It was recently revealed that during the Second World War, MI6 spent more than £200 million bribing senior Spanish military officers, ship owners and other agents to prevent Spanish dictator General Franco joining forces with Hitler.
But it is not just the Spaniards who need to think carefully about providing logistical support to the Russians. If Spain declines them, the Russians may seek refuelling rights elsewhere in the Mediterranean, in countries like Greece or Turkey.
Nato should therefore make it explicitly clear that no Nato member state should provide any help to the Russian flotilla. For to do so would be tantamount to facilitating the Russians to commit war crimes.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
The fleet of Russian warships, headed by the ageing aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, is believed to be heading for the Syrian coast where it is expected to join the Russian military's onslaught against Syrian rebel groups based in the northern city of Aleppo.
The ferocity of the Russian bombardment of Aleppo, in which the Russians have been accused of dropping banned weapons such as napalm and cluster bombs on civilian targets, has resulted in the US and British governments accusing Moscow of committing war crimes in Syria.
Thus the Spanish government's initial offer to refuel the Russian flotilla in the Spanish-controlled enclave of Ceuta - Spain's equivalent of Gibraltar - meant it was, in effect, offering its support to a country that is not only breaching international law, but acting contrary to the interests of the Nato alliance.
Most of the leading Nato powers are involved in supporting the Syrian rebels in their efforts to overthrow the regime of President Assad, as well as defeating the militants of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Even Turkey, the most problematic member of the Nato alliance, is providing support for the US-led coalition's campaign against Isil.
Russia, on the other hand, is fighting to keep the Assad regime in power, which meant that the Spanish government's offer to refuel the Russian flotilla was completely at odds with its status as a Nato member.
The Spanish have always had a problem trying to work out whose side they are on in times of conflict. It was recently revealed that during the Second World War, MI6 spent more than £200 million bribing senior Spanish military officers, ship owners and other agents to prevent Spanish dictator General Franco joining forces with Hitler.
But it is not just the Spaniards who need to think carefully about providing logistical support to the Russians. If Spain declines them, the Russians may seek refuelling rights elsewhere in the Mediterranean, in countries like Greece or Turkey.
Nato should therefore make it explicitly clear that no Nato member state should provide any help to the Russian flotilla. For to do so would be tantamount to facilitating the Russians to commit war crimes.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
