Gen. Joseph Votel testifies before the House Armed Services Committee, Tues., Feb 27, 2018.

Gen. Joseph Votel testifies before the House Armed Services Committee, Tues., Feb 27, 2018. Kevin Baron/Defense One

Russia ‘Incredibly Destabilizing’ as Syrian Conflict Threatens Region, Top US General Warns

Weeks after Tillerson said the U.S. and Russia share a postwar vision, Votel says Moscow is playing both “arsonist and firefighter.”

Russia does not want — or is unable — to help end the Syrian war, and instead has become an “incredibly destabilizing” force in the region, the top U.S. general for the Middle East warned Congress.

Gen. Joseph Votel’s blunt assessment comes just one month after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he believed Russia was “very well aligned” with Washington’s desire to end the war with a unified Syria. But Russian actions since have fallen short of any partnership toward peace; on Tuesday, Votel repeatedly said Moscow should be held accountable for stoking the conflict.

Even Tillerson saw potential problems. Moscow’s failure to live up to a 2013 agreement to remove chemical weapons from Syria leaves it responsible for January’s gas attacks on civilians, he said last month. And on Feb. 7, Pentagon leaders have said, U.S.-led coalition forces killed or wounded 300 Russian-backed fighters who attacked a coalition base in southern Syria. And on Saturday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously for a ceasefire, but Moscow dragged its feet until Monday before agreeing to five-hour truces to allow civilians to escape regime bombardments in the district of Eastern Ghouta.

“Russia has failed to follow through on delivering the regime in a number of different areas,” Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee. “As we look at the UN-sanctioned ceasefire that was put in place, one that they helped draft and agreed to implement and cause the [Syrian] regime to comply by it — they have failed to do that.”

“I think either Russia has to admit that it’s not capable or it doesn’t want to play a role in ending the Syrian conflict, here. I think their role is incredibly destabilizing at this point,” he said.

After the hearing, Votel said he was not trying to refute the chief diplomat’s previous assessment of Russia’s intentions.

“My perspective is kind of on the here and now. That’s what I’m thinking about. I’m certainly not trying to contradict Secretary Tillerson,” he said.  

SPECIAL REPORT: In Shattered Raqqa, Top US General Calls for the World’s Help

After a bloody week of shelling killed more than 500 people in eastern Syria, the UN Security Council agreed on Saturday to press for a 30-day ceasefire. Instead, government and rebel forces continued to exchange fire, killing several dozen more.

“I think that the president put the Assad regime on notice some time ago, and we're continuing to echo that message,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday. “When I said that we call for an immediate end to these offensive operations, we mean it. But in terms of any specific action, as we've said before, I’m not going to broadcast what we may or may not do.”

In November, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement, agreeing that the Geneva peace process, not military action, would resolve the Syrian conflict. Sanders said the two had not spoken in the few days of continued violence after the UN-brokered ceasefire.

Several lawmakers asked Votel about Israeli security, and Iranian support for extremist groups along the Syrian border. The general again said Russia was not doing enough in Syria’s southwestern corner, and particularly around Idlib.

“Russia is a party to this and they have responsibilities to ensure that the detractable partners that may be in this area are under control. So they have to take responsibility for this and be held accountable, not just for the Iranians but the others that are down there that are much more akin to the violent extremists that are down there.”

“These are becoming collection zones for a lot of unsavory organizations, right here, and eventually they’re going to have to be dealt with. And so I’m concerned that left unaddressed they’re going to become bigger problems,” he said. “What we have seen in places like Idlib and others are where these groups that have come together are — do potentially pose long-term challenges for security in the region, above and beyond Syria.”

Farther north, Votel said Russia was adding powder to another keg: the tension in Afrin between Turkey, the city’s Kurdish administration, and the Syrian regime.

“On the diplomatic front, Moscow is playing the role of arsonist and firefighter – fueling the conflict in Syria between the Syrian Regime, YPG, and Turkey, then claiming to serve as an arbiter to resolve the dispute,” Votel said in written testimony.

“I think there certainly has to be more accountability and pressure put on Russia to do what they said they were going to do,” he said, later in the hearing.

Votel dismissed Russia’s efforts to organize alternative peace talks on Syria and Afghanistan. He said Moscow was attempting “to thwart the UN’s role and limit the advance of American influence. Russia's insistence on a separate Syrian political peace process at Astana and Sochi detracts from the internationally-sanctioned UN talks in Geneva.”

In his testimony, he wrote, “Russian and Iranian-led Astana talks have been far less successful, and Russian bombardment of the Astana agreed de-escalation zone in East Ghouta calls into question Moscow’s sincerity in guaranteeing the security of these areas.”

“I think part of what you see is that what Russia says is not necessarily what Russia does,”

committee chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, told reporters after the hearing. “So they may dress up in firefighter suits, but they’re the arsonists, enabling the Syrian regime and the Iranians to continue and expand the conflict and commit terrible humanitarian disasters.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.