The cold war between the United States and Russia freezes St. Petersburg and lights the fuse in Damascus. Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "in case of attack we will help Syria". Previously, the Moscow strongman had said that "it would be counterproductive" to destabilize the situation in the Middle East.
Putin's words came on the final day of the G20 in St. Petersburg. During the summit, US President Barack Obama had sought the support of world leaders for an attack on Syria. Washington accuses Bashar al-Assad's regime of killing 21 people on the outskirts of Damascus on August 1429 with the use of chemical weapons. Assad instead rebounded the accusation against the rebels. China and Russia, who have opposed a UN resolution against Syria, insist any action without the United Nations would be illegal.
According to Putin's account, the discussions on Damascus would have continued beyond midnight yesterday, including a private meeting with Obama. The two would remain in their respective positions.
The Syrian parliament addressed the US Congress asking to vote against Obama's proposal to conduct military strikes against regime targets in Damascus. This was reported by state television, quoting the president of the People's Assembly Jihad al Lahham.
In the meantime, the United States has decided on a partial evacuation of the staff of their consulate general in Adana, a city in Turkey close to the border with Syria. Previously a similar decision - justified as in the case of Adana by impending "threats" - had been taken by the State Department for the American embassy in Lebanon.
