POINT OF NO RETURN

In the second half of July, in Syria, where armed clashes have been going on for almost a year and a half, military operations directly affected the family of President Bashar al-Assad. An explosion near the building of the national security service in Damascus, carried out by a suicide bomber who worked as a bodyguard, killed Minister of Defence Daoud Rajhi, his deputy and Assad's brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat, the assistant vice-president and former defence minister, Hasan Turkmani, Interior Minister Muhammad al-Shaar and the Syrian intelligence chief Hisham Bakhtiar. The powerful explosive device went off at the very moment when the heads of security agencies had an extended meeting in the building. In addition, several senior officials from President al-Assad's inner circle were also killed. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by two groups linked to radical Islamists. The Syrian Free Army (SFA), fighting government troops, also said it was involved in the terrorist attack. SFA representative Qasim Saad al-Din openly threatened Damascus: "This is the volcano about the awakening of which we had warned. We are just getting started." Two days later, a few more explosions rocked Damascus - they took place near the TV centre, the Customs Office and the headquarters of several secret services.

We can assume that by beheading the country's security forces on the eve of critical battles, the armed opposition is trying to cause fear and panic among the military-political elite of Syria. But senior Syrian military establishment reacted harshly, vowing to "cut off any hand that undermines national security". According to Syrian MP Khalil, all the attacks in Damascus are masterminded by the CIA and the Israeli intelligence service Mossad. He believes that such manifestations should be approached from the position of force.

Meanwhile, some experts suggest that the loss of leading security services by President Bashar al-Assad may become a turning point in the Syrian confrontation, especially against the backdrop of the fact that in recent weeks, the number of senior military officials and diplomats who have defected to the opposition has increased dramatically. The number of Syrian defector generals in Turkey has reached 20. And among the diplomats, the most resonant one was the flight of the Syrian ambassador to Iraq, Nawaf al-Faris. Interestingly, Nawaf al-Faris, who put forward his own theory about the terrorist attack, blamed it on persons from the president's circle: "Leading security officials were eliminated not by Islamists, but by people close to President al-Assad and this is evidence of a deteriorating power struggle within the Syrian leadership." It should be noted that prior to this event, the Syrian opposition announced a "decisive attack on Damascus". Initially, the rebels managed to gain a foothold in some areas of the capital, but government troops ousted the armed opposition and took control of the places where the militants operated. According to the Syrian government media, the troops also liquidated the last stronghold of militants in the Basatin al-Razi on the western outskirts of Damascus. The authorities denied the information that they used helicopters while suppressing pockets of resistance. Simultaneously, the Syrian rebels launched a campaign to capture the second most populated city in the country, its business centre - Aleppo. In the north, the rebels managed to get into the city limits and begin to storm the local headquarters of state security bodies. They were able to capture a military training base located 10 kilometres north of Aleppo - some soldiers surrendered, while others defected to the opposition. The insurgents also took control of a border crossing with Turkey. At the same time, army special forces launched a counterattack north of Aleppo and destroyed a grouping of mercenaries in Qabtan al-Jabal and liberated the cities of Khayan and Haraytan captured by militants. Later, the government took control of the checkpoint on the border with Turkey, as well as other checkpoints on the border with Iraq, previously captured by the rebels. Although the rebels did not violate the border, Iraqi forces blocked the main staging post on the border with Syria with a concrete wall that can withstand falling shells. Many Iraqis living in Syria continue to flee the country beset by civil war without waiting for the authorities to take action. According to international organizations, since the beginning of the civil conflict in Syria, 230,000 people have left the country. The refugees are fleeing mainly to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Recently, the Jordanian and Iraqi authorities announced the opening of their borders to refugees from neighbouring Syria. Earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross described the situation in Syria as a civil war and declared the enforcement of international humanitarian law in the country. The number of victims in Syria, according to the UN, is more than 16,000 people.

Impasse at the UN

In the midst of the latest dramatic events, the Syrian opposition again appealed to the international community to intervene in the situation in the country. As a result, the UN Security Council put to a vote a draft resolution on Syria prepared by the United Kingdom, USA, France, Germany and Portugal, stipulating the use of Article 41 of Chapter 7 of the Charter, which makes it possible to impose harsh economic and financial sanctions. In fact, Chapter 7 allows the use of military force against countries whose policies pose a threat to international peace and security. As foreseen, Moscow described the attack in Damascus as another attempt to destabilize the situation in Syria and vetoed the draft resolution. In this issue, it was also supported by Beijing. By the way, since March 2011, Russia and China have acted in unison and vetoed "Western" resolutions on Syria for the third time. The UN Security Council was also presented with the Russian version of the resolution providing for the extension of the UN mandate for another three months and not proposing any sanctions. Heated discussions did not lead to changes in the positions of Moscow and Beijing. Ultimately, members of the UN Security Council voted unanimously for the extension of the presence of the UN observer mission in Syria for another 30 days. The intransigence of Russia and China was heavily criticized by Western countries. At the end of the Security Council meeting, the US envoy to the UN, Susan Rice, placed the responsibility for the violence in Syria on those who support Damascus: "The blame for the escalation of violence in Syria lies with the al-Assad regime and those members of the UN Security Council who support it. The resolution on Syria, blocked by Russia, did not include military intervention. The UN Security Council failed in its efforts on Syria." Her tough stance was also supported by representatives of Great Britain, France and Germany. At the same time, Susan Rice hinted at possible interference in Syrian internal affairs bypassing the UN Security Council. Moscow, which does not approve such unilateral steps, calls for Western countries to put forward balanced demands to both conflicting parties, thus trying to achieve an end to the violence in Syria and prevent President Bashar al-Assad's removal from power by unconstitutional means. Despite its tough stance, Russia, however, said that it would send refurbished Mi-25 attack helicopters to Syria only after the normalization of the situation in this country. It should be noted that some time ago, this issue was heavily criticized by the West, which accuses Moscow of supplying offensive weapons to Damascus. But at the same time, a Russian naval squadron, consisting of large landing ships with marines on board, was sent to the Syrian coast. Another thing exacerbating the Syrian issue was a statement by Syria's Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdisi that Damascus does not exclude the possibility of using chemical weapons in the event of foreign aggression. US President Barack Obama immediately warned al-Assad that the use of chemical weapons would be a tragic mistake. The Pentagon spokesman George Little said that Damascus should never consider using chemical weapons even in the event of foreign aggression. By the way, Washington's concern in relation to the presence of chemical weapons in Syria was expressed by Susan Rice immediately after the meeting of the UN Security Council: "The escalation of violence by al-Assad's regime against his own people is of particular concern because of the presence of chemical weapons. Therefore, the US will increase pressure on Bashar al-Assad's regime outside the UN Security Council." But the Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on Maqdisi's statement, focused on the fact that, in the firm opinion of Moscow, Syria, which joined the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning the use of asphyxiating, poisonous or other such gases as a weapon of war in 1968, will continue to strictly adhere to its international obligations.

Whose is the truth?

Analysis of events around the Syrian issue shows that it is rather a global confrontation between Russia and the West than a domestic political crisis. Each of the parties acts on its own geopolitical interests and is interested in having a ruling regime in Damascus that would suit its ambitions. Unfortunately, they do not really care about the interests of the Syrian people.