Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that if required, Russia is ready to scale up its military presence and intervention in Syria.
The announcement came less than a day after the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted for a resolution to the Syrian conflict. A tentative ceasefire agreement should be implemented within the first half of January 2016, according to thee plan. Both Russia and the U.S. approved of the resolution, though the two countries are opposed on the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. While Russia supports Assad, the U.S. wants him removed.
"He's in control of two-thirds of the populated areas of Syria, he has not been defeated on the battlefield, he has the support of all the minorities, as well as the secular Sunnis. It's absurd to think that the Russians have come so far with this process only to throw Assad under the bus; it's not going to happen," said Peter Ford, former U.K. ambassador to Syria, after the deal was agreed, reported The Guardian.
While Russia and the U.S. have agreed for the first time on a plan for Syria's future, Putin's remarks seemed to take the proposed peace process and ceasefire a step back
"We see how effectively our pilots and intelligence officers work in Syria and how effectively they coordinate their efforts. At that, they are diversified, and the Army, Navy and Aviation use the most modern weapons," Putin said, according to The Sunday Express. Putin was at a Kremlin event honoring security service employees.
"I would like to note that these are by far not all of our capabilities. We have, by far, not used everything of what we already have. We have additional capabilities. If necessary, we will use them too," he added, according to the state-run Sputnik News Agency.
