BEIRUT- After nearly two years of offering unwavering support to the beleaguered government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Russia said for the first time on Thursday that it believes rebels could prevail in the country’s bloody civil war.
There was no sign that Moscow — Syria’s most powerful patron — would join other foreign nations, including the United States, in supporting the opposition or pressuring Assad to step down.
But the statement from the Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was an indication that even the Syrian government’s strongest allies must now acknowledge the gains that rebel forces have made in recent weeks.
“We must look at the facts: There is a trend for the government to progressively lose control over an increasing part of the territory,” Bogdanov said during hearings at a Kremlin advisory body, according to the Associated Press. “An opposition victory can’t be excluded.”
In Brussels on Thursday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it appeared that Assad’s government was “approaching collapse,” news services reported. Rasmussen reportedly said the defeat of the Syrian military and the fall of the government was “just a matter of time.”
Rebel forces have captured at least half a dozen government military bases in the last two weeks, and they have also besieged the country’s main commercial airport in Damascus, effectively shutting down the facility for a period of time amidst heavy fighting.
The Syrian military has struck back hard, deploying bombs and artillery shells around Damascus, Aleppo and smaller cities. Opposition groups estimate that at least 40,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict.
Russia and China have vetoed three tough sanctions resolutions against Syria at the United Nations Security Council that were intended to punish Assad for his bloody crackdown on anti-government demonstrators and fighters. Russia also has continued to give weapons to Syria, despite strong protests from other countries.
On Wednesday, the United States and NATO said Assad’s military had launched short-range ballistic missiles against rebel forces in recent weeks, a heavy-handed and risky attack that analysts said could be an indication of the government’s desperation.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry — which describes the rebel forces as “terrorist groups” — on Thursday denied using Scud missiles.
“These missile were not used in the confrontations with the armed terrorist groups who were proved to have used advanced weapons lately, which they received from conspiring countries, in their attacks against the innocent citizens, the military forces and the public and private infrastructure,” the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted an unnamed Foreign Ministry official as saying.
At least one anti-government activist appeared to scoff at the change in message from the Russian government.
“The only thing we can tell him really is “Finally you’re waking up to the truth?,” the activist, a former fighter who uses the nom de guerre Majd al Shami, said via Skype.
“Russia has been standing on the side of the regime since the very first day of the revolution in Syria,” the activist added. “Logically they cannot let go of the regime that easily, or even fight against it, regardless of the international political situation.”
The violence inside Syria continued on Thursday, with reports of two car bomb attacks. One blast killed at least 16 people and injured 23 in the town of Qatana in Damascus province, according to SANA. And activists reported a second car bomb in a suburb of Damascus called Jdeidet al Fadl, though there was not any further information on the number of people killed or wounded.
Ahmed Ramadan contributed to this report.
There was no sign that Moscow — Syria’s most powerful patron — would join other foreign nations, including the United States, in supporting the opposition or pressuring Assad to step down.
But the statement from the Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was an indication that even the Syrian government’s strongest allies must now acknowledge the gains that rebel forces have made in recent weeks.
“We must look at the facts: There is a trend for the government to progressively lose control over an increasing part of the territory,” Bogdanov said during hearings at a Kremlin advisory body, according to the Associated Press. “An opposition victory can’t be excluded.”
In Brussels on Thursday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it appeared that Assad’s government was “approaching collapse,” news services reported. Rasmussen reportedly said the defeat of the Syrian military and the fall of the government was “just a matter of time.”
Rebel forces have captured at least half a dozen government military bases in the last two weeks, and they have also besieged the country’s main commercial airport in Damascus, effectively shutting down the facility for a period of time amidst heavy fighting.
The Syrian military has struck back hard, deploying bombs and artillery shells around Damascus, Aleppo and smaller cities. Opposition groups estimate that at least 40,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict.
Russia and China have vetoed three tough sanctions resolutions against Syria at the United Nations Security Council that were intended to punish Assad for his bloody crackdown on anti-government demonstrators and fighters. Russia also has continued to give weapons to Syria, despite strong protests from other countries.
On Wednesday, the United States and NATO said Assad’s military had launched short-range ballistic missiles against rebel forces in recent weeks, a heavy-handed and risky attack that analysts said could be an indication of the government’s desperation.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry — which describes the rebel forces as “terrorist groups” — on Thursday denied using Scud missiles.
“These missile were not used in the confrontations with the armed terrorist groups who were proved to have used advanced weapons lately, which they received from conspiring countries, in their attacks against the innocent citizens, the military forces and the public and private infrastructure,” the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted an unnamed Foreign Ministry official as saying.
At least one anti-government activist appeared to scoff at the change in message from the Russian government.
“The only thing we can tell him really is “Finally you’re waking up to the truth?,” the activist, a former fighter who uses the nom de guerre Majd al Shami, said via Skype.
“Russia has been standing on the side of the regime since the very first day of the revolution in Syria,” the activist added. “Logically they cannot let go of the regime that easily, or even fight against it, regardless of the international political situation.”
The violence inside Syria continued on Thursday, with reports of two car bomb attacks. One blast killed at least 16 people and injured 23 in the town of Qatana in Damascus province, according to SANA. And activists reported a second car bomb in a suburb of Damascus called Jdeidet al Fadl, though there was not any further information on the number of people killed or wounded.
Ahmed Ramadan contributed to this report.