Moscow will not join the U.S. effort to thwart the Islamic State terrorist group until Russian-American relations improve, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this weekend. The big question, however, is whether Russia is in fact in a position to offer any substantial aid to the anti-jihad campaign — and military analysts believe the answer is "yes." "Russia can do anything," said Frants Klintsevich, a Russian lawmaker and Afghan War veteran turned military expert.
"We could solve the issue once and for all if there were only the political will to do so," Klintsevich told The Moscow Times on Monday. Independent experts were more reserved, but also said Russia has a lot to contribute to the fight against the Islamic State.
The list runs right up to boots on the ground: not regular troops, but private military companies that Russia is about to legalize, though possibly not in time for them to join the fray in Syria and Iraq.
INC News, 27/10/2014
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