TEL AVIV – “The tectonic plates are shifting here in the Middle East” with U.S. influence on the decline and Russia quickly fulling the power vacuum, especially in Syria, declared Breitbart Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein in a radio interview.
Klein warned Russia has nearly taken over in Syria and explained that traditional U.S. allies in the Gulf, spurned by President Obama’s successful efforts to sign an international nuclear deal with Iran, are now forging fresh alliances with Russia, creating a new Moscow-aligned axis in the Middle East.
Klein was speaking during his weekly segment on John Batchelor’s popular national radio show.
Click below to listen to the full interview.
“What we are seeing is Russia take over” in Syria, Klein stated. “What we are seeing is the Saudis…bringing Russia now into the Gulf axis that traditionally for a long time, for decades, was heavily influenced by America. All of course because of the larger rapprochement between the United States and Iran.”
“Looking at the grander scheme here,” added Klein. “it’s Russia now with the Saudis taking over basically in Syria. You see new alliances now being created…This leaves Turkey in political and soon maybe militarily chaos.”
Klein downplayed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unexpected announcement on Monday ordering the withdrawal of most of his military forces from Syria.
Others in the international news media have reacted with similar skepticism regarding Russia’s alleged withdrawal from Syria.
Writing at CNN.com, Leon Aron, Director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, opined, “Short of the tiger turning herbivore, Putin is not leaving Syria. To paraphrase Churchill, as far as Syria is concerned, Russia’s involvement is not at an end, not even at the beginning of an end. It’s just the end of the beginning.”
The BBC’s Moscow correspondent, Steve Rosenberg, remarked, “Russian TV may be trumpeting it as “Operation Return” with live coverage of bombers leaving Syria and emotional homecomings for the Russian pilots. But Moscow is not pulling out all its forces.”
“Don’t be fooled: The withdraw from Syria is another propaganda win for Russia,” was the title of a piece at Business Insider by Anna Borshchevskaya of the Washington Institute For Near East Policy.
Commentary magazine dubbed it “Russia’s Faux Withdrawal from Syria.”
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