PHOTO: French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (right) with US Secretary of State John Kerry, October 2013

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470,000 Deaths from the Conflict Since 2011?

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius lashed out on Wednesday at the US over its approach to Syria, joining Turkey in criticism of Washington.

Fabius, who is resigning to become head of the Constitutional Court, denounced the “ambiguities” of the US-led coalition, “in particular [of] the principal pilot”:

One doesn’t get the sense that there is a very strong commitment. There are words, but actions are another matter, and obviously the Iranians and Russians feel that.

He specifically challenged the political will of President Obama: “I don’t think that the end of Mr Obama’s mandate will push him to act as much as his minister [Secretary of State John Kerry] declares.”

Fabius’ statement adds to the pressure on the US as the 20-nation International Syria Support Group gathers in Munich on Thursday to discuss stalled “peace talks” and the latest crisis of displaced civilians, spurred by Russian bombing and regime-Iranian-Hezbollah ground assaults in northwest and southern Syria.

Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have stepped up their criticism of Washington in the past week, focusing on the US shift of support from Syrian rebels to Kurdish-led forces.

Ankara believes that the Syrian Kurdistan Democratic Union Party (PYD) — whose YPG militia has advanced across northern Syria against the Islamic State, and is now fighting rebels for territory — is dominated by the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK, which is officially listed as a “terrorist organization” by the US.

Erdoğan asked again on Wednesday, “Are you on our side or the side of the terrorist PYD and PKK organizations?”

The Turkish Government was unsettled by Washington’s show of support for the PYD on Monday, refusing to declare it as “terrorist”. The Foreign Ministry summoned the US Ambassador, while leading officials warned against a further advance by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Without directly confronting the US, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond put out another signal yesterday, as he met the coordinator of the opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee, Riad Hijab.

Hammond urged a “genuine commitment” to peace talks and a political transition with President Assad leaving power. He said of Russian bombing and the regime-Iranian-Hezbollah ground offensives:

Russia and the regime are deliberately targeting the opposition and thus strengthening Daesh. Their actions against civilian populations and infrastructure are in breach of international humanitarian law.

Aleppo Crisis Fuels Criticism of US

While Turkey’s response to the US rests on its concerns about Syrian and Turkish Kurdish groups, a wider challenge to Washington has been galvanized by the threat to rebels and hundreds of thousands of civilians by the regime-Iranian-Hezbollah offensive, enabled by intense Russian bombing, north of Aleppo city.

Attacks in the last two weeks have driven up to 70,000 people from their homes and towards the closed Turkish border. If the offensive cuts off supply routes from the border to Aleppo, an estimated 300,000 people in opposition-held areas of the divided city are at risk from bombardment and siege.

The Russian airstrikes and ground assaults also undermined the Geneva talks seeking a political resolution, with discussions suspended last week after less than five days. The opposition-rebel bloc has said that it will not enter “proximity talks” with a regime delegation without an assurance of ceasefires and access to aid for besieged areas.

However, the US has rejected the conditions, joining Russia in saying that they should be part of the negotiations. Moreover, Secretary of State John Kerry has reportedly blamed the opposition, rather than Russia and the Assad regime, for the suspension of the discussions. He has also told critics that they can expect another three months of Russian airstrikes to “decimate” the Syrian opposition.

Formally, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has scheduled the resumption of talks with the regime and opposition-rebel bloc for February 25; however, the High Negotiations Committee has maintained its insistence that bombing must stop and aid must be assured for besieged areas.

A Military Shift by the Saudis?

Meanwhile, there are signs that Saudi Arabia may also push aside US objections and step up military assistance to the threatened Syrian rebels, after Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir made an unscheduled visit to Kerry last weekend in Washington to set out Riyadh’s position. T

The trip followed a Saudi declaration that it would send ground troops into Syria if desired by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State. The statement pointed more to a political maneuver, with the Saudis indicating that they might renew military backing of the opposition-rebel bloc.

In recent months, the Saudis have been cautious about supplying the rebels, amid the US shift to the Kurdish-led forces. However, in recent days, weaponry including Grad rockets and anti-tank missiles have again been seen in use against the regime-Hezbollah-Iranian offensives.

Russia: We Didn’t Bomb Hospitals in Aleppo City, US Did

Responding to claims by the US military that it has attacked two hospitals in Aleppo city, Russia has come up with a novel response — Moscow insists that the Americans caused the damage with their first airstrikes in the area.

On Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesman said Russia and regime air forces caused the damage, without giving details of when the attacks occurred.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, responded on Thursday:

Only aviation of the anti-ISIS [Islamic State] coalition flew over the city yesterday….At 1355 Moscow time, two U.S. Air Force A-10 attack aircraft entered Syrian airspace from Turkish territory. Reaching Aleppo by the most direct path, they made strikes against objects in the city.

Konashenkov said there were no Russian aircraft nearby.

The spokesman did not exist why the US-led coalition, which has never struck Aleppo city since it began operations in September 2014, would now begin the attacks — particularly since there are no Islamic State units or positions inside Aleppo.

The Pentagon said later Thursday that the Russian claims were “patently false” and a “fabrication”.

Ahrar al-Sham Commander: Kurdish YPG Militia is “Tool of Assad Regime, Russia, and US”

The commander of the Ahrar al-Sham rebel faction has told a Kurdish news agency that the Kurdish YPG militia is “a tool in the hands of the Assad regime, Russia, and the United States”.

Abu Yousef Al-Muhajir said to ARA News:

There is no difference between the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the regime’s troops, or the Russian forces, because they all attack us (Islamist rebels). The YPG has been combating our forces at the battlefronts in northern Aleppo.

Al-Muhajir declared that both the US and Russia were airdropping weapons to Kurdish forces.

This week the YPG captured villages from rebels close to the town of Azaz on the Turkish border. Claims are circulating today that Kurdish units have moved into Menagh Airbase, seized by rebels from the regime in August 2013.

The commander said, “We are now in a collective war with the Kurds.”

Al-Muhajir admitted that Russian bombing, “a desperate attempt to save Assad”, had helped the regime and its Iranian and Hezbollah allies “make some gains on the ground”.

Kerry: I Told Lavrov That We Need Progress on Ceasefires and Aid

US Secretary of State John Kerry posts a Twitter message about his discussion with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the International Syria Support Group meeting:

Russia: Saudi Intervention Could Lead to “New World War”

Speaking as the International Syria Security Group met in Munich on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned the entry of Saudi ground troops could lead to a “new world war”.

The Saudi military declared last week that it will put in the soldiers if desired by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State.

Peskov said:

This is bad as a ground offensive usually turns the war into a permanent one. Just look at what happened in Afghanistan and many other countries. I don’t need to remind you what happened in poor Libya.

The Americans and our Arab partners must think well: do they want a permanent war…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.

The Saudi military spokesman, General Ahmed Al-Assiri, said on Thursday that the decision to send troops is “final” and “irreversible”.