Russia's Double Dealing on Arms to Assad Regime

The British Independent reveals that Russia has reneged on a pledge to stop supplying arms to the Syrian regime. The assurances were made to British officials over a month ago as a sign that the Kremlin was distancing itself from President Bashar al-Assad and his ruling regime. The flow of arms, however, continued with the Russians stressing that there was no UN prohibition on supplies, and it was meeting its contractual obligations. Moscow may now be preparing to send air- and naval-defense systems as well as 36 Yak-130 jets which can be fitted with missiles to carry out ground attacks. The Yak aircraft are part of a $550 million dollar contract. Assad's forces have used warplanes to carry out raids on heavily populated areas, causing dozens of civilian casualties.