I'll Help Syria if the U.S. Attacks, says Putin in Chilling Threat to Obama as G20 Summit Breaks up in Acrimony
- Russian premier has admitted to supplying arms to Syrian tyrant
- Putin insists the chemical attack was a 'set-up' by government opposition
- Backs his stance by pointing out that the Pope is against military intervention
By Daily Mail UK, 7 September 2013
Russia last night issued a chilling threat to assist Syria if the US leads military strikes against its hated regime.
As a summit of world leaders broke up in acrimony, Vladimir Putin declared openly that he is already supplying arms to Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad and vowed to step up support if a planned missile attack goes ahead.
There were gasps as the Russian President made his remarks after being asked how he would react if Barack Obama proceeds with an attack in response to Syria’s used of chemical weapons.
Jovial: There may have been a cull in smiles after Putin admitted to helping arm Syria
Host: Russia's President Vladimir Putin has hinted that he would be prepared to help Syria should Obama push U.S. military intervention
Stance: Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2L) has said military intervention would be 'counter productive' and 'disrupt the world economy'
Putin: 'We will deliver weapons to Syria.'
‘Will we help Syria? We will. And we are already helping, we send arms, we cooperate in the economics sphere,’ Mr Putin declared.
Amid signs any US-led action could be delayed for as long as a fortnight, with President Barack Obama battling to win the approval of Congress, Russia last night sent a fourth warship with ‘unspecified cargo’ to the eastern Mediterranean.
While few observers expect Mr Putin to deploy his forces in the event of a US-led missile strike on Damascus, Mr Putin’s remarks suggest he is determined to prop up Assad’s rule.
He has already suggested he could renew a suspended contract to supply Syria with a sophisticated missile shield.
Despite what the US, the UK and EU countries again said was conclusive evidence Assad was behind a sarin attack that killed almost 1,500 civilians, including 500 children, last month, the Russian leader insisted rebel forces trying to overthrow the Syrian leader had staged the incident.
In Syria, conflict raged today as people were pictured fleeing flames and caused by a bomb hit Binnish town, Idlib province, Syria
Devastation: A video, obtained from the Shaam News Network, showed the devastation and destruction in the immediate aftermath of the bomb
He said it was a ‘provocation by militants expecting aid’ and insisted that military action without the approval of the United Nations Security Council would ‘violate international law’.
He insisted most people in the US, UK and other countries calling for military intervention did not support it - and also pointed out the Pope had made clear the ‘inadmissability’ of such a move.
Last night, Russia issued a 27-page document on the conclusions of the G20 that made no mention of Syria, though the crisis had dominated discussions at St Petersburg.
In an unprecedented act of defiance for any recent international summit, eleven countries, including the US and the UK, issued their own statement demanding a ‘strong international response to the grave violation of the world’s rules and conscience’ by Assad’s regime.
The countries, which also included Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Turkey, said they would ‘support efforts undertaken by the United States and other countries to reinforce the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons’.
Eagle eye: David Cameron watches on as Obama and Putin embrace
Mr Cameron, whose failure to win the support of Parliament for British participation on military action was ridiculed by Mr Putin, attacked the ‘dangerous doctrine’ that military action is only legal with United Nations backing.
He said Britain and other Western nations could not ‘contract out our foreign policy, our morality, to the potential of a Russian veto’.
Insisting Mr Obama is no ‘warmonger’, the Prime Minister said world leaders would set an appalling precedent if they failed to respond to the use of chemical weapons.
‘Everyone will pay a price,’ he said.
After more than hours of fruitless talks that went on into the early hours of the morning, Mr Cameron insisted Russia’s claim the Syrian rebels - not Assad’s hated regime -- were responsible for a gas attack killing nearly 1,500 people was ‘miles from the truth’.
The Prime Minister attacked the argument made by countries opposing US-led missile strikes on Damascus that any intervention made without the approval of the UN Security Council would be illegal, even on humanitarian grounds.
‘The argument that did flare up at the dinner last night is a disagreement about whether it’s possible to have legal military engagement outside the UN Security Council,’ he said.
‘Our strong legal advice is that there is a case for humanitarian intervention. There was a strong argument from some that unless there is a Security Council resolution there is no legal basis for action.
‘I think it’s a very dangerous doctrine. If you accept that, you could have a country massacring half its people, a blockage at the UN Security Council, and no-one could act.
‘It was brought home to me last night that quite aside from the Syrian problem we need to make that argument very vigorously with countries like South Africa, Brazil, India and others.
‘One of the frustrations of last night is you have countries - including Security Council permanent members - saying all this must be decided by the UN Security Council, and yet they are the very countries that are blocking any action and have been blocking resolutions for the last two and a half years.’
Mr Cameron said it had been clear that the G20 was ‘never going to reach conclusions about Syria’, adding: ‘The divisions are too great.’
No joke: Actors in costumes arrive at the Peterhof Palace where heads of state met
Russia's Putin says leaders split on Syria
Attacking Russian intransigence, he said: ‘The Russian position that, as Putin has said, if it is proved it is Assad he will take a different view but he is fairly clear that it is the opposition, is miles away from what I think the truth is and miles away from what lots of us believe.
‘He says to me that he would like to see further evidence of regime culpability and we will go on providing evidence of regime culpability, as will the Americans and others, but I think it will take a lot to change his mind.’
Mr Cameron, whose plan to join US-led military action was scuppered last week when MPs voted against, yesterday offered another £52 million in aid to help the millions who have fled the Assad regime.
He asked President Putin to put pressure on the Syrian regime to agree safe corridors along which aid convoys could pass without coming under attack from either side in its civil war.
Mr Cameron suggested the UN Security Council could be asked to endorse such a plan.
‘I have never heard the Russians argue against humanitarian access. It may well be necessary at some stage to go back to the UN and that will test whether the Russians will support it,’ he said.
‘There’s a case at some stage for writing down all the things that need to happen in terms of access and getting UN support for it. It might be necessary to get a UN resolution.’
Amid growing signs in the US that Mr Obama could struggle to get approval from Congress for his plans, Mr Cameron said he was making a ‘powerful argument... as someone who is trying to extract himself from Middle East entanglements and he is no way seen as a warmonger’.
Last night the US ordered its diplomats to leave neighbouring Lebanon as Congress debates Syria military strikes.
President Obama insisted military action was right even if the public was largely against it, saying US intervention in the Second World War had also been opposed by a majority.
As he left the summit, the US leader said: ‘I’m not drawing an analogy to World War II other than to say that when London was getting bombed, it was profoundly unpopular, both in Congress and around the country to help the British. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right thing to do.’
END
'Small Island? Britain has Given the World The Beatles, Elgar and, er.... One Direction': Outraged Cameron hits back at Putin Taunt with TWO Bizarre Outbursts Defending 'This Sceptered Isle'
- Russia mocked the UK's size and boasted that oligarchs 'bought Chelsea'
- Jibe sparked furious response from Britain at G20 summit in St Petersburg
- Prime Minister says no other country has a 'prouder history or bigger heart'
- UK leads the world in art, sport, music, philosophy and diplomacy, he says
- Tribute likened to Hugh Grant's 'small country' speech in film Love Actually
- Tory MP Henry Smith writes on Twitter: 'Putin really is a tosser'
By Daily Mail UK, 7 September 2013
David Cameron today turned to boyband One Direction to prove Britain can still 'conquer the world'.
The Prime Minister hit back at reports that Russia had dismissed the UK as a 'small island that no one pays any attention to' with not one, but two passionate displays of patriotism.
Quoting Shakespeare to hail the achievements of 'this sceptered isle', Mr Cameron added television, the internet and 'the world's language' to his list of the UK's inventions and triumphs.
Passion: Mr Cameron became animated during the press conference rounding off the G20 summit in St Petersburg, quoting Shakespeare and saying his speech could be set to music
Down the hatch: With relations frosty, President Putin and Mr Cameron warm themselves as they arrived for the Water and Music Show
Early this morning the PM told journalists that Britain had saved Europe from fascism, abolished slavery and 'invented most of the things worth inventing'.
But at a press conference rounding off the G20 summit in St Petersburg, he warmed to his theme to boast how British music has dominated the globe.
Mr Cameron said: 'We’re a country that invented many of the things that are most worthwhile, everything from the industrial revolution and television to the world wide web.
'Our music delights and amuses millions. The Beatles, Elgar and slightly less er... congruously, One Direction have conquered the world.'
Global domination: David Cameron claimed One Direction proved Britain could conquer the world. The Prime Minister appeared in the video for their Comic Relief single One Way Or Another
The Beatles, One Direction - PM outlines why Britain is Great
He went on: 'We have invented most of the sports that the world most likes playing.
'If I go on too long about our literature, our art, our philosophy, our contribution, including of course the world’s language...'
He then quoted from Shakespeare's Richard II, saying: 'If I start talking about this blessed plot, this sceptered isle, this England I may have to put it to music so I might have to leave it there.'
'Our music delights and amuses millions, The Beatles, Elgar and slightly less er... congruously, One Direction have conquered the world.
'
Prime Minister David Cameron
The extraordinary diplomatic row erupted last night when Russia dismissed Britain as ‘just a small island no one pays any attention to'.
In an astonishing attack, Vladimir Putin's administration mocked the UK’s size and influence, and boasted that Soviet oligarchs had ‘bought Chelsea’.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Mr Cameron even ridiculed the idea that the UK was just one island, declaring he did not want the people of Northern Island, Orkney or Shetland to 'feel left out' from his tribute to the nation's great history.
But to the dismay of Downing Street, Tory MP Henry Smith wrote on Twitter: 'Putin really is a tosser.'
Out of the picture: As well as falling out with Russia, Mr Cameron's relations with US President Barack Obama have also been strained after British MPs voted against military action
Excuse me! David Cameron finds German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stolen his seat
DAS IST MEIN STUHL: CAMERON FORCED TO OUST ANGELA
All politicians fear losing their seat.
But David Cameron was forced to wrestle his back from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
As the British PM returned to his place at the huge table used for talks at the G20, he found Ms Merkel deep in conversation with Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf.
Mr Cameron had to interrupt, and ask Chancellor Merkel for his seat back.
As the controversy rumbled on, Russian officials flatly denied the remarks – attributed to President Putin’s official spokesman Dmitry Peskov – had ever been made.
But the denial did nothing to contain Mr Cameron's fury.
In his first outburst he declared: 'Britain may be a small island, but I would challenge anyone to find a country with a prouder history, a bigger heart or greater resilience.'
He argued that Britain had 'helped to clear the European continent of fascism' and had remained 'resolute' throughout the Second World War.
'Britain is an island that helped to abolish slavery, that has invented most of the things worth inventing, including every sport currently played around the world, that still today is responsible for art, literature and music that delights the entire world.
'We are very proud of everything we do as a small island - a small island that has the sixth-largest economy, the fourth best-funded military, some of the most effective diplomats, the proudest history, one of the best records for art and literature and contribution to philosophy and world civilisation.'
Defiant: Mr Cameron today chaired a meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria on the sidelines of the G20 summit
Smile! With deep divisions over Syria dominating, the 20 world leaders put on a brave face to pose for the traditional 'family photo' at the end of the summit
Disunited nations: President Putin cracks a joke, but Mr Cameron remains stony faced on the back row of the picture
NO. 10 TELLS MPS: DON'T CALL WORLD LEADERS TOSSERS
David Cameron today slapped down a Tory MP who called the Russian President a 'tosser'.
Tory MP Henry Smith took to Twitter to declare: 'Putin really is a tosser.'
The comment raised questions about whether the MP for Crawley, a former county councillor, had overstepped the mark.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Smith should avoid similar outbursts in future.
'It is important to have a good and constructive discussion and that should be reflected in the language that people use,' the spokesman added.
But Mr Smith was unrepentant. He said: 'On Twitter in a slight fit of pique I might refer to him as a tosser. But in other forums, such as the House of Commons, I would accuse him of being an absurd character.
'There is his abuse of human rights against the gay community in his own country, there is the abuse of human rights in Syria where the way he is helping and prolonging that civil war there is appalling.'
He added: 'I may not use that colloquial language in other forums, but frankly it is still how I feel.'
Outspoken: Henry Smith, Tory MP for Crawley, posted this pith summation of his views on the Russian president
However, Mr Cameron said made clear he did not approve.
The PM said: 'Insulting people should never have a part in foreign policy.
'We should try to maintain good manners and politeness even when under intolerable pressure.'
The row represents an extraordinary breach of protocol, particularly as Russia is hosting the G20 meeting.
President Putin, a belligerent ally of Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad, has been revelling in British MPs' rejection last week of UK participation in US-led military action.
But the Kremlin’s decision to rub Mr Cameron’s nose in it – with the Prime Minister on Russian soil – has plunged Anglo-Russian relations to a new low.
The episode at the G20 summit hosted by Russia underlined the Cold War style tensions that have been created by the row over Syria.
The seating plan at the talks had to be changed so that Barack Obama and President Putin are kept as far apart as possible.
Last night, arriving at the summit venue in St Petersburg, President Obama strode in alone rather than walking in with President Putin.
The war of words with Britain came as Mr Cameron continued to make the case for intervention in Syria despite his defeat in Parliament last week.
Mr Cameron today ruled out any prospect of agreement over Syria at the G20 summit.
He said President Putin remains 'miles away' from the truth of Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons on his own people.
'This G20 was never going to reach conclusions on Syria,' said the Prime Minister. 'The divisions are too great.
'The Russian position that, as Putin has said, if it is proved it is Assad he will take a different view but he is fairly clear that it is the opposition, is miles away from what I think the truth is and miles away from what lots of us believe.'
Mr Cameron and Mr Putin held one-on-one talks in the early hours of this morning lasting 35 minutes.
The PM added: 'He says to me that he would like to see further evidence of regime culpability and we will go on providing evidence of regime culpability, as will the Americans and others, but I think it will take a lot to change his mind.'
The premiers of Turkey, Canada, Germany and Italy all joined Mr Obama and Mr Cameron in making the case at last night's dinner for a robust international response to Assad's alleged breach of treaties banning the use of chemical weapons.
The Russian dismissal of Britain as a 'small island' emerged last night, and was attributed to a spokesman for President Putin.
At first a Downing Street source said: ‘As host of guests from the world’s leading countries, I’m sure the Russians will want to clarify these reported remarks, particularly at a G20 where it’s a very British agenda on trade and tax.
‘It highlights how a small island with great people can achieve a big footprint in the world.’
One man is an island: Russian President Vladimir Putin, sitting in Peterhof garden during the G20 show last night, is at odds with many western countries calling for action in Syria
I LOVE BRITAIN, ACTUALLY: WAS CAMERON INSPIRED BY HUGH GRANT FILM?
Was David Cameron's G20 speech inspired by a Love Actually... ?
David Cameron's spirited defence of Britain in the face of a global superpower led to the Prime Minister being compared to Hollywood actor Hugh Grant.
In the 2003 film Love Actually, Grant played the British Prime Minister who loses his temper with a bullying President.
When he catches his counterpart flirting with his secretary, he uses a press conference to challenged the idea that Britain can be pushed around.
Grant's Prime Minister declares: 'We may be a small country, but we are a great one too.
'A country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham’s right foot.
'David Beckham’s left foot, come to that.
'A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now on I am prepared to be much stronger.'
The only difference between the words of screenwriter Richard Curtis and Mr Cameron is who they were aimed at.
While Mr Cameron is furious with Russia, Grant was hitting back at the President of the United States, played by Billy Bob Thornton, over amid doubts about the state of the UK-US 'special relationship'.
Chancellor George Osborne also insisted Britain is 'setting the agenda' at the summit, on the humanitarian response to what’s happening in Syria, the economic agenda and the tax agenda.
He told BBC Radio 4: 'Britain is today leading efforts to step up the humanitarian response to what is happening in Syria, the tragedy of 2m people leaving that country, fleeing for their lives, the imperative that we have as an international community to help people in Syria protect themselves from the use of chemical weapons.
'So Britain is involved in that, Britain is very much involved in the Geneva II peace talks.
'And I would say this is ultimately an economic summit as well, and on the economic agenda, a lot of what Britain’s been talking about is now absolute mainstream to the conference.'
A British diplomat also pointed out that the UK economy was significantly larger than Russia’s.
There was no sign at the summit that the latest evidence produced by the US and the UK to back calls for action against Syria was winning over doubters, with everyone from Iran’s supreme leader to the Pope opposing intervention.
President Putin accused the US of ‘lying’ to justify missile strikes and attacked Secretary of State John Kerry for denying that Al Qaeda was fighting with the Syrian opposition.
President Putin, a belligerent ally of Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad, is well aware of the rejection of British participation in US-led military action as voted against by MPs last week
All smiles: But the Kremlin's decision to rub Mr Cameron's nose in it, with the Prime Minister on Russian soil, will plunge Anglo-Russian relations to a new low
THIS SCEPTERED ISLE: DAVID CAMERON'S PATRIOTIC TRIBUTES
This is the full text of David Cameron's first remarks about what makes Britain great:
'Britain may be a small island, but I would
challenge anyone to find a country with a prouder history, a bigger heart or greater resilience.
'Britain is an island that has helped to clear the European continent of fascism - and was resolute in doing that throughout World War Two.
'Britain is an island that helped to abolish slavery, that has invented most of the things worth inventing, including every sport currently played around the world, that still today is responsible for art, literature and music that delights the entire world.
'We are very proud of everything we do as a small island - a small island that has the sixth-largest economy, the fourth best-funded military, some of the most effective diplomats, the proudest history, one of the best records for art and literature and contribution to philosophy and world civilisation.
'For the people who live in Northern Ireland, I should say we are not just an island, we are a collection of islands. I don't want anyone in Shetland or Orkney to feel left out by this.
'I'm thinking of setting this to music.'
Then at the press conference in the afternoon he said:
'Something I believe very deeply is that yes, we are a small island. In fact a small group of islands.
'But I would challenge anyone to come up with a country with a prouder history, with a bigger heart, a greater resilience.
'This is a country cleared a European continent of fascism, that took slavery off the high seas.
We’re a country that invented many of the things that are most worthwhile, everything from the industrial revolution and television, the world wide web.
'Our music delights and amuses millions, The Beatles, Elgar and slightly less er... congruously, One Direction have conquered the world.
'We have invested most of the sports that the one world most likes playing.
'If I go on too long about our literature, our art, our philosophy, our contribution including of course the world’s language.'
Mr Cameron attempted to win over opponents of military strikes on Damascus by unveiling new new evidence of the regime's use of chemical weapons.
He also launched a provocative attack on those who had blocked British involvement in the planned operation.
Arriving in St Petersburg, the Prime Minister announced that scientists at Britain's Porton Down had identified deadly sarin gas on victims' clothing and in soil samples from Damascus.
It also emerged that a report prepared by US spy chiefs concluded that Syria possesses a 'longstanding biological weapons program', on top of chemical weapons, and may have access to anthrax, camelpox and cowpox.
Taking 'full and personal responsibility' for the Government's shock defeat over British participation in military action last week, Mr Cameron insisted he had taken a 'principled stand against the gassing of children'.
Labour MPs - and those Tories and Liberal Democrats who joined with them to oppose military action - would have to 'live with the way that they voted', the Prime Minister said.
Mr Cameron said he had agreed to all the caveats Labour had asked for but 'even in spite of that, in my view, they chose the easy and political path not the right and the difficult path'.
However, there was no sign that the latest evidence produced by the US and the UK was winning over doubters - with everyone from Iran's supreme leader to the Pope opposing the idea of intervention.
Asked in TV interviews whether he was ‘sidelined’ at the summit as a result of the Commons vote, Mr Cameron said repeatedly: ‘I don’t accept that for a moment.
Mr Cameron said he had not seen ‘any evidence’ that Russia was prepared to shift position and endorse action through the UN.
‘Let’s be clear: almost 100 years ago the world came together, Russia included, to say after the First World War, the use of chemical weapons wasn’t acceptable,’ he said.
'All the testing that's been done, including the testing we are doing at our Porton Down laboratories, all adds to the picture.
'But I don't think anyone is seriously denying that a chemical weapons attack took place. I think the Russians accept that. Even the Iranians accept that.
'The question is obviously convincing more people that the regime was responsible.'
Talks: Mr Cameron was seated next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the working session of the G20, with US President Barack Obama (centre) and President Putin further round the table (right)
US President Barack Obama listens as Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the start of the G20 Working Session
Unable to take part in military operations, Britain is instead offering an extra £52million in aid for the millions of Syrians who have fled President Assad’s forces, taking its total commitment to £400million.
The Prime Minister said he had not seen 'any evidence', however, that Russia was prepared to shift and endorse action through the United Nations.
But he added: 'I don't resile from the arguments I made last week - when America and many others in the world draw a red line over chemical weapons use, if nothing follows from that, that would be very bad for our world.'
Opening speech: Russian President Vladimir Putin (in the centre of the picture) delivers his opening speech during the first working session of the G20 Summit in Constantine Palace in Strelna near St. Petersburg
Also at the summit: New Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, right, is also Chairman of the G20's Financial Stability Board. He is greeted by Vladimir Putin during an official welcome of G20 heads of state and government
Mr Cameron said President Obama had been 'very understanding' over his defeat in Parliament.
'Like me he is a democrat who believes you have to listen to people, you have to listen to Parliament and you have to respect the outcome of a vote.
'Britain isn't going to be involved in this specific military action, but the special relationship between Britain and America is as strong today as it was a week ago,' the Prime Minister said.
Mr Cameron is also urging President Putin to use his influence with the Syrian regime to strike an agreement that neither side in the civil war should fire on humanitarian convoys.
'Every 15 seconds there is another Syrian refugee. While we are sitting here in the comfort of St Petersburg, thousands of people will be made homeless.
'They need tents, they need shelter, they need food, they need protection from chemical weapons attacks,' the Prime Minister said.
END
Pope Francis also opposed action as world leaders gathered in Russia, urging them to 'lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution' :
Pope Writes to Putin Urging him to tell Obama and other G20 Leaders to Oppose Syria Strike and Pray for a Peaceful Solution
- Vatican sends tweets and prepares prayer vigil and day of fasting
- Military action would be 'futile' Pope Francis writes to Russian President
The Pope has written to the Russian President urging him to tell President Obama and other world leaders at the G20 summit to oppose a strike in Syria.
The letter was the latest in a series of moves by Pope Francis to prevent involvement in Syria's bloody civil war.
He has sent tweets condemning a potential war and declared today a day of fasting and prayer for peace in the war-torn country
Peace: Pope Francis has written to G20 leaders and taken to Twitter as he calls for a peaceful resolution in Syria
In his letter to Putin and other G20 leaders he wrote:
'I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution.'
'Let there be a renewed commitment to seek, with courage and determination, a peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiation of the parties, unanimously supported by the international community.'
The Pope's push for a peaceful resolution was echoed by the Catholic Church in the U.S. as Cardinal Dolan and American bishops wrote to Congressmen calling on them to vote against military intervention.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops also wrote to President Obama, saying the Pope had 'made it clear that a military attack will be counterproductive, will exacerbate an already deadly situation, and will have unintended negative consequences'.
The Pope wrote onTwitter:
Defense: The Pope has used Twitter to call for world leaders to find an alternative to war
END
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed the US was using a chemical attack in Syria’s civil war as a pretext to interfere in his country.
The head of Iran's elite Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, went further, declaring that the Islamic Republic would 'support Syria to the end'.
continued...... Iran Threatens that Obama's Daughter will be Kidnapped and Raped if America Attacks Syria