Russia warns of 'new world war' starting in Syria

"Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." 

- Isaiah 17:1

Russia warned of “a new world war" starting in Syria on Thursday after a dramatic day in which Gulf states threatened to send in ground forces.

Foreign and defence ministers of the leading international states backing different factions in the war-torn country met in separate meetings in Munich and Brussels following the collapse of the latest round of peace talks.

Both Russia and the United States demanded ceasefires in the long-running civil war so that the fight could be concentrated against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) - but each on their own, conflicting terms.

An Islamic State position on Kobane hill is taken out by an allied airstrike

But the Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, staged their own intervention, saying they were committed to sending ground troops to the country. Their favoured rebel groups have been pulverised by Russian air raids and driven back on the ground by Iranian-supplied pro-regime troops.

They said their declared target was Isil. But the presence of troops from Gulf states which have funded the Syrian rebels would be taken as a hostile act by the Assad regime and its backers, and a sign that they were committed to staking their claim to a say in the final Syrian settlement.

Russia issued a stark warning of the potential consequences. "The Americans and our Arab partners must think well: do they want a permanent war?" its prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview due to be published on Friday but released on Thursday night.

A girl asks a passerby for help to pay a medical bill, as her father sits in his wheelchair, in the Douma area of Damascus earlier this month  Photo: Reuters

“It would be impossible to win such a war quickly, especially in the Arab world, where everybody is fighting against everybody.

"All sides must be compelled to sit at the negotiating table instead of unleashing a new world war.” - Dmitry Medvedev

Earlier in the day, both Russia and the United States had demanded a ceasefire in the Syrian war.

Russia did not specify a date publicly but diplomats said that they had suggested March 1, which the Americans say would leave them another two weeks to achieve their military goals, including the defeat of “moderate” rebel forces in the north around Aleppo.

A girl carrying a toddler inspects damage, in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force, in Douma

The United States countered by demanding an immediate ceasefire.

The rebels, whose main negotiators have been touring Europe in the wake of the collapse of the Geneva peace talks and the renewed assault on Aleppo, say a ceasefire can only happen in conjunction with a negotiated “political transition” - something which looks ever more unlikely in light of regime victories on the ground. - Telegraph

Damaged buildings in the Douma area of Damascus

FAQ

Islamic State (Isil)