State Sec. Blinken Heading to Turkey to Discuss Sending Syria’s Massive Weapons Stockpiles to Ukraine – Reports

<p >Following the<a href=" target="_blank"> defeat of the Syrian government</a> on December 8, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on December 11 initiated an unscheduled visit to Syria’s immediate neighbours Jordan and Turkey. The shaping of Syria’s future is expected to be central to discussions, with the country’s territory currently being split between Turkish-backed Islamist paramilitaries, many of which have Turkish officers within their ranks, as well as the Israel Defence Forces which have <a href=" target="_blank">advanced deep</a> into the country, and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in the country’s oil rich northeastern regions. Syria was the first state in the Middle East to leave the Western sphere of influence and form close ties with the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, with the placing of its territory under Western Bloc influence having been an objective of Western, Turkish and Israeli policy in the region for over half a century. While the strategic benefits for these actors of Syria’s defeat are tremendous and wide ranging, one of the most significant for the United States is the obtaining of Syria’s arsenals of Soviet, North Korean and Russian military equipment, which are some of the very largest in the world. </p><p ><img src=" title="Turkish Backed Islamist Paramilitaries March Through Aleppo City"></p><p >A number of sources have reported that a central objective of State Secretary Blinken’s visit to Turkey will be to secure access to Syrian arsenals for transfer to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which have faced <a href=" target="_blank">growing equipment shortages</a> after over two and a half years of high intensity engagements with Russian forces. The discrepancy between Russian and Ukrainian armaments has continued to grow as the Western world’s weapons stockpiles rapidly dwindled, while Russia has not only massively expanded its production capacities, but also received very large scale <a href=" target="_blank">supplies from North Korea</a>. Syria’s arsenals, which are estimated to include over 1 million 152mm and 122mm artillery rounds, close to 4000 T-54/55, T-62, T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks, and over 2000 armoured personnel carriers, among other assets, could provide a tremendous boost to the Ukrainian Army. This is particularly important as Kiev and its strategic partners in the West <a href=" target="_blank">seek to rebuild</a> a large multi-million man force with Western support, after having lowered the conscription age to provide personnel for a new army. The high possibility of a transfer of Syrian arsenals to Ukraine was first highlighted by Military Watch within 24 hours of Damascus’ fall on December 9, with greater details <a href=" target="_blank">provided here</a>.</p><p ><img src=" ></p><p >With Western production capacities remaining limited, arms stockpiles drained, and many Western weapons systems having <a href=" target="_blank">proved to be of limited utility</a> in the theatre, the large scale supply of military equipment from Syria could represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in the West’s favour in the Ukrainian theatre since the start of the conflict. The very significant leverage which NATO member Turkey in particular retains over Islamist militants that now rule over much of Syria makes Ankara an indispensable partner for such efforts. Washington may offer a range of incentives to Turkey to support this process, including reduced support for Kurdish paramilitary groups in Northeastern Syria, additional loans to Turkey’s beleaguered economy, and possibly a more direct path to <a href=" target="_blank">return to partnership</a> in the F-35 fighter program. It is expected that Syria’s stockpiles of artillery and tank rounds will be priorities for transfer to Ukraine, followed by its T-62, T-72 and T-90 tanks and other armoured vehicles. </p>