US President Barack Obama waived restrictions related to providing military assistance to foreign forces in Syria in a memorandum to the US Departments of State and Defense.
"I hereby..determine that the transaction, encompassing the provision of defense articles and services to foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals engaged in supporting or facilitating ongoing US military operations to counter terrorism in Syria, is essential to the national security interests of the United States," the document says.
According to the document, responsibility for the same will be delegated to the US secretary of state to work with and report to Congress on weapons export proposals. It would require 15 days of notice before they are authorized.
President Barack Obama lifted US restrictions on arming partners in Syria to facilitate the Raqqa offensive, a US government administration official told Sputnik.
“This waiver requested by the Secretary of Defense and signed by the President today enables the provision of equipment to partner forces preparing for the Raqqa campaign as we grow and strengthen numerous relationships with Counter-ISIL forces,” the US administration official said on Thursday.
The deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association, Andrey Baklanov, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that public information indicates a new vector of the US administration's efforts, which "does not coincide with current interests of the Syrian people." "Which is a fairly significant progress in the release of Syrian territories by armed groups and the transition to the next phase associated with the achievement of a political settlement," he said.
"If the US media reports reflect the real solutions of the US leadership, it means the desire of Americans to prevent the solution of both problems - the elimination of militants and start of the negotiation process. Therefore, they will try to extend the clashes for an indefinite period of time to preserve the sticky situation in Syria, hindering the transition to a peaceful settlement. This is an extremely destructive step," Andrey Baklanov stressed.
At the same time, the diplomat expressed hope that the resigning US administration's decision would not be realized before the official change of power in the United States. "I think, given the specificity of the moment in the United States - the new administration and, more broadly, rethinking of the US policy in the Middle East and the world at large - this decision would not be realized in practical terms. There will be some justification to give up this kind of risky and stupid idea," the deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association concluded.
A military observer of the TASS news agency, retired Colonel Viktor Litovkin, predicts that the direct supply of US weapons to the Syrian opposition will significantly alter the picture of the conflict in Syria. "The opposition will get a better and more effective weapon, and therefore, the fight against terrorism will be delayed, because the Syrian opposition and the terrorists is almost the same thing," he said.
"Thus, the United States continues their attempts to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, but not defeat terrorism, and therefore they use terrorists and opposition for this purpose. Of course, the United States will support them by all possible means, including financial and military. In essence, there is nothing surprising about this decision," Victor Litovkin stressed.
