Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
Apparently Russia has now said that it will protect Syria against a marine invasion.
I agree that this is right, but this is practically a cold war situation!
Best case scenario: The Russian presence works as a deterrence and they back off.
I like that Russia puts its' money where its' mouth is, but at the same time it's scary and an echo of the past.

Either way, the beautiful and previously stable country of Syria is in ruins. Regardless of what happens they have a decade of misery ahead of them, and 2 million already left the country.

It's such a tragedy and how anyone can be so shameless as to pretend that bombing will make things better, is unbelievable.
I am hearing conflicting stories regarding Russian ships in the Mediterranean. US news makes it sound like they are building up for a potential conflict with the US, but Russian news continues to state that the ships are there as part of a regular rotation which has been going on since before the crisis in Syria began two years ago.

If you have Russian articles stating that Russia intends to mount a military defense against the US, by all means share them because I haven't found any which say that.

This article was in RIA Novosti this morning (English edition)

Russia Boosts Mediterranean Fleet for Potential Evacuation – Kremlin | World | RIA Novosti

Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said earlier on Thursday that the country’s increased presence in the Mediterranean is “a legitimate, natural and predictable reaction to the situation developing” in the region.

“Our actions are in strict compliance with international law and the UN Charter,” he stressed, adding that the Mediterranean Sea is “quite close to Russia’s borders.”

However, he stressed that Russia’s naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea should not be interpreted as an indication that the country plans to take an active role in any regional conflict, he said.
This was RT's version of the story, which basically said the same thing and even quoted the RIA Novosti article directly.

Troubled waters: Naval forces line Syrian shores — RT News

I have also read through Russian-language news and have not seen anything saying that Russia intends to become involved militarily on any front.

At this point, the majority of US citizens strongly oppose a military strike against Syria, and the vote in Congress appears to be shaping up to support that, although there are still many undecided. Personally I hope the US does not strike, but if it does, I do not think that Russia is going to start attacking US warships, for which I am grateful. Not because I think America is doing the right thing with a military strike, but because someone has to keep a calm head and prevent World War Three from starting, if at all possible. I admire Russia for its restraint.