Nuland Pushes Russian Partnership in Syria
(4 Nov 2015) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington - 4 November 2015 ++CUTAWAYS AS INCOMING AT SOURCE++ 1. Wide of Anne Patterson, Asst. Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and Victoria Nuland, Asst. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at hearing 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Victoria Nuland, Asst. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs: "While Moscow asserts that its military action is directed at ISIL militants, the vast majority of Russian strikes are targeted in areas where the Asad regime has lost territory to forces led by the moderate opposition, Hama, Homs, Aleppo and Idlib. Now Russia is fielding its own artillery and other ground assets around Hama and Homs, greatly increasing Russia's own soldiers' vulnerability to counterattack. And, Moscow has failed, as you said and as Assistant Secretary Patterson said, to exact any humanitarian concessions from the Assad regime as the price for Russian support. The regime continues to barrel bomb its own citizens with impunity, perhaps even emboldened by Moscow's help. None of this has been cost free for Russia itself. In pure economic terms, the price of its air campaign is estimated at $2 to 4 million per day. This at a time when average Russians are feeling the pinch of a recession brought on by economic mismanagement, low oil prices, and sanctions applied for the Kremlin's last military adventure in Ukraine." 3. Cutaway 4. Victoria Nuland, Asst. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs: "We have limited our own military cooperation with Russia to the most basic aviation de-confliction procedures to protect our own aircrews. What would positive cooperation by Russia look like? First, Russia would turn its guns on ISIL and stop the carnage in and around Syria's western cities. As the price of its support, Moscow would insist that Assad ground the helicopters and planes that he's using to drop barrel bombs on innocents on a daily basis. And it would urgently work with us, our Allies and UN envoy Steffan De Mistura to turn the statement of principles that Secretary Kerry, Foreign Minister Lavrov, and 17 other ministers and institutions released in Vienna last Friday into a true ceasefire, a parallel political transition process and hasten the day that Assad's bloody tenure comes to an end. The quality of our cooperation with Russia in Syria depends on the choices Moscow makes." 5. Cutaway 6. Victoria Nuland, Asst. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs: "The only way we'd end up in a joint strategy is if the Russian's agree to the general premise that we have to have a ceasefire, we have to have a transitional government and we have to have a decision on getting rid of Assad. That's what the Secretary's been working on, in the meantime, we're working on ISIS and they're working in a different part of Syria to defend Assad, so I don't see working together militarily unless and until it's all efforts on a transition." 7. Cutaway STORYLINE: A top US diplomat defended President Barack Obama's policy to defeat Islamic State militants in Syria, and says Russia's intervention has destabilised the battlefield. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland says that if Russia wanted to have a positive role, it would insist that Syrian President Bashar Assad ground the aircraft he's using to bomb civilians. She says Russia also should work with the U.S. and its partners toward a cease-fire and political transition. =========================================================== Clients are reminded: Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
