Russia Launches New Airstrikes in Syria; 1st From Submarine
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW — Russia has unleashed another barrage of airstrikes against targets in Syria, including the first combat launch of a new cruise missile from a Russian submarine in the Mediterranean Sea, the country’s defense minister said Tuesday.

The Kalibr cruise missiles launched by the Rostov-on-Don submarine successfully hit the designated targets in Raqqa, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin. The submarine was in a submerged position during the launch, he added.

Putin noted that the new cruise missile can be equipped with both conventional and nuclear warheads, adding he hopes that the latter “will never be needed.”

Shoigu said Tu-22 bombers flying from their base in Russia also took part in the latest raids, performing 60 combat sorties in the last three days.

He said the targets destroyed in the latest wave of Russian airstrikes included a munitions depot, a factory manufacturing mortar rounds and oil facilities belonging to “terrorists.”

Shoigu said the Russian military had informed Israel and the United States about the airstrikes before launching them. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed that Russia notified the U.S. in advance.

The U.S. official said at least 10 cruise missiles were launched from Russian surface ships in the Caspian Sea and at least one missile was fired by a Russian submarine in the eastern Mediterranean.

Russia has carried out its air campaign in Syria since Sept. 30, using warplanes at an air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia, as well as navy ships and long-range bombers flying from their bases in Russia. While Moscow said its action has been focused on the Islamic State group, the U.S. and its allies have criticized Moscow for also striking moderate rebel groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Shoigu told Putin that Syrian army forces had overtaken the area near the border with Turkey where a Turkish jet shot down a Russian warplane on Nov 24. He showed Putin the plane’s flight recorder, which he said Syrian and Russian troops had recovered from the crash site.

Putin ordered the flight recorder to be studied in the presence of foreign experts, adding that the data will show the plane’s flight path.

Moscow’s relations with Ankara have been badly strained over the downing. Turkey said it shot down the aircraft after it violated Turkey’s airspace for 17 seconds despite repeated warnings.

Russia has insisted the warplane had stayed in Syria’s airspace, and responded by deploying long-range air defense missiles at its air base in Syria and introducing a slew of economic sanctions against Turkey.

“We had treated Turkey not only as a friendly country, but as an ally in the fight against terrorism, and we couldn’t expect such a mean, treacherous stab in the back,” Putin said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed Turkey’s complaint about a sailor on a Russian navy vessel pictured on its deck with a portable air-defense missile while the ship was cruising across the Bosporus.

Turkey denounced the incident as a provocation and summoned the Russian ambassador to protest.

Zakharova responded Tuesday by saying the Russian crew had the right to protect its vessel and insisted that the action didn’t contradict the Montreux Convention, which sets international rules for using the Turkish straits.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry also voiced concern Tuesday about the reported bombing of a Syrian army camp without addressing the U.S. claim that Russia was responsible for the bombing.

The Syrian government blamed aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition for targeting the army camp in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour on Sunday night, killing three Syrian soldiers and wounding 13. The U.S. denied the claim, and a senior U.S. official military said Washington was “certain” it was a Russian airstrike that had hit the camp. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Without commenting on the U.S. claim, Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said it has “serious concerns” about reports of the coalition strike in Deir el-Zour. It said the incident was rooted in the U.S.-led coalition’s reluctance to coordinate with Damascus on its campaign against the Islamic State group.

The ministry also mentioned a coalition strike in Syria’s province of Hassake that reportedly involved civilian casualties.

“These incidents show that the situation on the front against IS in Syria and Iraq is getting more tense,” the ministry said, adding that the Turkish military’s deployment to a base near Mosul in Iraq without Iraqi government sanction has added to the tensions.

“We consider such presence unacceptable,” the ministry said.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said Washington expects Turkey to operate in coordination with the Iraqi government.

“We have urged political dialogue between the Iraqi government and that in Turkey,” Power said. “Our belief is that just as we operate in close coordination with and with the consent of the Iraqi government that all countries should do that.”

She voiced hope that the Turkish deployment could “be done in that manner where a sovereign government is making judgments about which capabilities are deployed and making sure that it has visibility into everything going on in its country.”

Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said that while Russia so far has said ‘no’ to Iraq’s request for help in fighting IS, that attitude may change. He added that the arsenal Russia has put on the ground in Syria signals Moscow’s intention to have a lasting military presence.

“It’s not going to be a short operation, it’s not going to be a short war,” Trenin said. “Russia is there for a long haul.”

攻擊敘利亞 俄潛艦發射巡弋飛彈

俄國已對敘利亞境內目標展開新一波空襲，俄國國防部八日公布影片顯示，俄國首度從部署在地中海的潛艦對敘利亞發射新型巡弋飛彈。俄國總統普亭表示，俄軍要對在敘利亞使用的高精準度武器打擊結果進行分析，「徹底研究這些武器在戰場上的表現」，顯示俄國利用敘利亞測試新武器的意圖明顯。

敘利亞反對派九日齊聚沙烏地阿拉伯首都利雅德，共商組成統一陣線以與阿塞德總統協商政治解決敘利亞內戰，俄國則選在敘利亞反對派集會之前展開新一波攻擊。美國國務卿柯瑞九日表示，他下周將前往莫斯科與普亭商討如何政治解決敘利亞問題。

俄國國防部長蕭伊古在國營電視台節目中向普亭報告：「我們從部署在地中海的頓河羅斯托夫（Rostov-on-Don）潛艦發射「口徑」（Kalibr）巡弋飛彈，所有目標均已摧毀。」

蕭依古說，俄國過去3天發射巡弋飛彈並出動TU-22轟炸機，攻擊了300個目標，並協助敘利亞特種部隊取得遭土耳其擊落的俄國戰機的黑盒子。他說，這波攻擊目標包括石油設施、彈藥庫和一座地雷工廠。

普亭則表示，「口徑」巡弋飛彈是俄國新型的高精準度武器，「可攜帶傳統彈頭，也可以攜帶核彈頭，在打擊恐怖分子時，希望永遠不需要裝上核彈頭」。

頓河羅斯托夫潛艇屬於基洛級改良型潛艇，是俄國最新的柴電動力潛艇，配備的「口徑」巡弋飛彈性能仍為國家機密。此型潛艦據信是全球最安靜的潛艦之一，善於執行匿蹤任務，北約曾形容為「黑洞」。

俄國自9月30日開始對敘利亞發動空襲，但西方指責莫斯科的目的是扶持阿塞德政府與打擊溫和派叛軍。美國派駐反「伊斯蘭國」（IS）聯盟的新特使麥格克說，俄國在敘利亞的空襲，只有三成鎖定IS目標，卻有七成攻擊其他武裝團體。

敘利亞反對派在利雅德的會談，是2011年爆發內戰後，不同政治和武裝派系代表首度聚會，目標是組成統一陣線，以便在明年1月1日與阿塞德總統和列強談判如何結束內戰。被列為恐怖組織的IS和努斯拉陣線未受邀。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/08/world/europe/ap-eu-russia-syria.html

Video：RUSSIAN 3M14 KALIBR CRUISE MISSILE: TOP 5 FACTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uTttExS4Qs

2015-12-10．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯田思怡