Tsargrad: Russians have become occupiers in the Syrians view

A Russian analyst said that the partnership between Russia and Syria, which seemed unbreakable, has begun to weaken due to the deterioration of the situation over the past years, which has fueled a feeling of dissatisfaction with Russia among Syrians.

Russian analyst Andrei Ontikov revealed to the Russian Tsargrad website, the extent to which the rumors promoting the idea of ​​Russia’s geopolitical defeat in Syria are true.

Ontikov explained that Russia’s achievements in Syria stopped at eliminating terrorists in Idlib, and the Syrians began to blame Russia for starting political games and its alliance with Türkiye, which hindered the solution to the Idlib problem.

As for whether people are bitter about famine and war and are suspicious of Russia, Ontikov says the country’s economic situation is dire.

“This is partly due to US and European sanctions that affect not only the military sphere but also medicine, medical services and food, for exampl,” he said.

According to the United Nations World Food Program, about 55% of Syria’s population of about 12.1 million people suffered from food insecurity last year, while another 2.9 million are at risk of falling into famine.

Ontikov added that this situation raises questions for Russia, which is responsible for the part of the country controlled by the Syrian authorities.

Despite the war continuing for 13 years, there are no signs of the crisis ending yet.

Several years ago, Russia called on the international community to participate and help rebuild Syria, but the campaign gradually faded without reaching an understanding, as the Americans demanded that the political conflict be resolved first by Bashar al Assad withdrawing from the political scene.

Regarding the Arab media’s promotion two years ago of Russia’s loss of control in Syria, Ontikov said that the Arab media is presenting a story related to the ongoing Israeli attacks on Syria for years, claiming that Russia is preventing Damascus from shooting down Israeli fighter jets and is in contact with the Israeli side, although it can use the SS400 air defense systems located at the Hmeimim air base.

Ontikov continues by saying that Russia’s downing of an Israeli aircraft means the beginning of war.

On the other hand, there are Russian military personnel on Syrian territory, and Israel often targets sites close to them, posing a threat to their lives.

However, ignoring Israel’s actions in Syria threatens Russia with losing face in the Arab and Islamic world.

Regarding Russia’s loss of influence in Syria, Ontikov said that Russia is currently taking some steps, such as trying to reconcile the Syrians and Turks.

Currently, there are about 4 million Syrian refugees in Türkiye, and Türkiye of course wants to return them.

But given the difficulty of the situation and taking into account factors such as securing housing and food for refugees who will return to Syria and the refugees’ opposition to the current government, the prospects for reconciliation between the two countries are murky.

Regarding whether Moscow should pay attention to rumors promoting dangerous trends in Russian-Syrian relations, Ontikov said that the Russian leadership should listen to the statements of reliable people such as archaeologist Timur Karmov because the loss of Syria threatens to liquidate military bases and thus suffer a geopolitical defeat.

According to Ontikov, relations between Damascus and Moscow are good.

However, if the situation develops as it’s, the Syrians will look for other options for peace and stability.

Ontikov calls for thinking about the possibility of improving relations with the United States by offering some kind of deal.

Regarding Syria’s request to join the BRICS group, Ontikov believes that the organization doesn’t only include Russia.