NATO says Russian ground troops in Syria, Turkey’s airspace violated again

Fuente: http://edition.cnn.com/

Russian involvement in the 4½-year-old Syrian civil war seems to be escalating, with NATO’s secretary general confirming Tuesday a second incursion by Russian planes into Turkish airspace and saying Russian ground troops were in Syria as well.

«It’s unacceptable, it’s dangerous, and it’s reckless behavior and it adds to the tensions,» Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN about the incursions into Turkish airspace.

«We see the violation of the Turkish airspace becomes more important, more dangerous, because it happens in a context where we see more fighting, more Russian military presence in Syria.»

Stoltenberg expressed alarm over how the Russian military grows on several fronts in Syria.

«So we have seen a substantial military buildup by Russia in Syria, both in the air with the combat planes and air defense systems, but also an increasing number of ground troops,» he said. «In addition to that, they have deployed naval assets, a large number of naval assets close to the Syrian shores. And they continue to do so.»

Alleged airspace violations

The first violation of Turkey’s airspace is reported to have happened Saturday. The second was Sunday, officials said.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a warning for Moscow, according to the nation’s semiofficial news agency, Anadolu.

«If Russia loses a friend like Turkey, with which it has conducted many businesses, it will lose a lot,» he said.

In addition to the incursion reports, the Turkish air force said a MiG-29 fighter jet of an unidentified nationality had interfered Monday with eight Turkish F-16s on the Turkey-Syria border. The Turkish air force reported the jet put its planes under a radar lock for four minutes and 30 seconds.

Stoltenberg rebuked Russian combat aircraft for two alleged violations of Turkey’s airspace.

«We also have seen two of them, two violations of Turkish airspace,» he said at a news conference. «Intelligence that we have received provides me with reason to say it doesn’t look like an accident.»

Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952, and alliance rules say that an attack on any of the 28 member states should be treated as an attack on all.

Stoltenberg said the «substantial buildup of Russian forces in Syria» includes «ground troops in connection with the air base they have.»

Stoltenberg said he doubted that Russia, which has been conducting airstrikes in Syria, was interested primarily in fighting the terrorist group ISIS, also known as ISIL.

«I’m also concerned that Russia is not targeting ISIL but instead attacking the Syrian opposition and civilians,» he said.

Raggiunto l’accordo storico sul nucleare iraniano Ira di Israele: “È una resa all’asse del male”

Fuente: http://www.lastampa.it

Le indiscrezioni che trapelano da Vienna sul raggiungimento dell’accordo sul nucleare iraniano mettono in evidenza gli ultimi elementi di contenzioso risolti nella maratona notturna appena conclusa fra gli inviati di Teheran e del Gruppo 5+1 (Usa, Russia, Cina, Francia, Gran Bretagna più la Germania). Anzitutto le ispezioni dei siti militari, a cui Teheran si oppone da sempre. Le intese le prevedono ma con un meccanismo che vedrà l’Agenzia atomica dell’Onu chiederle ad un’apposita commissione, assegnando all’Iran il diritto di rifiutarsi.

Da un lato dunque Teheran accetta il principio di accettare l’ispezione del supersegreto sito di Parchin ma dall’altro potrà opporsi. Teheran ha accettato anche di consentire all’Onu accesso ai propri esperti nucleari. L’altro nodo era l’embargo agli armamenti convenzionali: resterà in vigore per 5 anni e quello balistico per 8 anni. Sarà una risoluzione Onu a ratificare l’intesa prevedendo la reintroduzione delle sanzioni entro 65 giorni se Teheran dovesse violare gli accordi.

L’intesa si articola in un testo di oltre cento pagine sulla ristrutturazione del programma nucleare iraniano in cambio della fine delle sanzioni. In attesa dei documenti e delle dichiarazioni da Vienna, la prima reazione arriva da Gerusalemme dove il portavoce del governo Netanyahu definisce l’intesa una «licenza per uccidere». La vice ministra degli Esteri di Israele, Tzipi Hotovely, si spinge oltre: «Questo accordo è una resa storica da parte dell’Occidente verso l’Asse del Male con l’Iran in testa», dice. E incalza: «Lo Stato di Israele agirà con tutti i mezzi per tentare di impedire la ratifica di quell’accordo». Molto soddisfatto Putin, secondo cui l’intesa darà alle relazioni bilaterali tra Mosca e Teheran «un nuovo potente impulso».