Alexander Mercouris — Trump draws back on criticism of Russia

A more measured view.

The day began with Trump responding in his usual overblown way to a needlessly provocative comment from the Russian ambassador to Lebanon, who is reported to have said that the Russians would shoot down all and every missile the US launched against Syria.

This statement – by a relatively junior ambassador in Russia’s diplomatic hierarchy – goes far beyond what other far more senior Russian officials – notably Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia – have been saying, and is almost certainly untrue....

The Duran
Trump draws back on criticism of Russia

Alexander Mercouris

But —

[Ambassador] Zasypkin’s statement reinforces a recent declaration by the Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov. “If lives of the Russian officers are threatened, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will retaliate against missile and launch systems,” Gerasimov said on March 13.

Gerasimov, as both American and Russian-based experts have noted, is not prone to bluffing and strictly follows directives from Putin. “When the Russian chief of the general staff says something, you have to listen because someone told him to say it,” Center for Naval Analyses’ senior research scientist Michael Kofman said recently at the Center for the National Interest....

The National Interest
Tensions Are Flaring between Washington and Moscow

Paul R. Pillar

See also

SouthFront
Russian Navy Launches Live-Fire Exercises Off Syrian Coast Amid Expected US Strikes