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| Syria Accord Looms Over Europe Security Meeting | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| MUNICH — The failure of world powers to quell the five-year conflict in Syria, the Russian military intervention there and the spread of Islamic terrorism overshadowed an annual security conference here, which came as Europe falters ahead of a new effort to cope with its refugee crisis. | MUNICH — The failure of world powers to quell the five-year conflict in Syria, the Russian military intervention there and the spread of Islamic terrorism overshadowed an annual security conference here, which came as Europe falters ahead of a new effort to cope with its refugee crisis. |
| The somber tone of the meeting was reflected in comments Sunday by a senior German official close to Chancellor Angela Merkel who said that Russia was unlikely to respect a new accord on ceasing hostilities in Syria given the aggressive hand it has played there and the advantage it has gained by using armed force. | The somber tone of the meeting was reflected in comments Sunday by a senior German official close to Chancellor Angela Merkel who said that Russia was unlikely to respect a new accord on ceasing hostilities in Syria given the aggressive hand it has played there and the advantage it has gained by using armed force. |
| Adding to the gloom, France indicated during the meeting it would not join a German plan to redistribute more refugees in Europe. Days before a new European summit meeting, the rebuff highlighted Europe’s failure to unite around a response to more than one million migrants, even as Russian actions and speech unsettles Europe, particularly Germany. | Adding to the gloom, France indicated during the meeting it would not join a German plan to redistribute more refugees in Europe. Days before a new European summit meeting, the rebuff highlighted Europe’s failure to unite around a response to more than one million migrants, even as Russian actions and speech unsettles Europe, particularly Germany. |
| In addition to a drumbeat from Russian news media that Europe’s way of life is threatened because of the migrants, Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev on Saturday warned the conference about a looming slide into a new Cold War. | In addition to a drumbeat from Russian news media that Europe’s way of life is threatened because of the migrants, Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev on Saturday warned the conference about a looming slide into a new Cold War. |
| A blunt assessment of Russia’s intentions from Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German Parliament, followed biting criticism from Senator John McCain over the American-Russian accord, announced Friday in Munich, to get aid into some Syrian regions and put into effect a truce plan for the devastated country. | A blunt assessment of Russia’s intentions from Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German Parliament, followed biting criticism from Senator John McCain over the American-Russian accord, announced Friday in Munich, to get aid into some Syrian regions and put into effect a truce plan for the devastated country. |
| The criticism from Mr. Röttgen and Mr. McCain came against the backdrop of news from Syria that no aid trucks had yet moved toward needy regions there, and illustrated how thoroughly the Middle East chaos had dominated the conference, which usually focuses on the trans-Atlantic alliance. | The criticism from Mr. Röttgen and Mr. McCain came against the backdrop of news from Syria that no aid trucks had yet moved toward needy regions there, and illustrated how thoroughly the Middle East chaos had dominated the conference, which usually focuses on the trans-Atlantic alliance. |
| However, the United Nations mediator for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Sunday that United Nations aid convoys were planned for Tuesday or Wednesday. “They will represent an initial test of the Munich commitments,” Mr. de Mistura said in an email exchange. | However, the United Nations mediator for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Sunday that United Nations aid convoys were planned for Tuesday or Wednesday. “They will represent an initial test of the Munich commitments,” Mr. de Mistura said in an email exchange. |
| As for a pause in fighting, he said he expected it to apply to “all areas of Syria except for areas controlled by ISIS and Al Nusra,” referring to the Islamic State militant group and the Nusra Front, which the United States and Russia regard as terrorist groups. | As for a pause in fighting, he said he expected it to apply to “all areas of Syria except for areas controlled by ISIS and Al Nusra,” referring to the Islamic State militant group and the Nusra Front, which the United States and Russia regard as terrorist groups. |
| That provision would allow Russian and Syrian forces to continue airstrikes over parts of Aleppo, where Nusra fighters are thought to be present. A State Department official said last week that different rebel groups are “intermingled” on the battlefield. | That provision would allow Russian and Syrian forces to continue airstrikes over parts of Aleppo, where Nusra fighters are thought to be present. A State Department official said last week that different rebel groups are “intermingled” on the battlefield. |
| President Obama spoke by phone with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Saturday to discuss the agreement made Friday and to “stress the importance of rapidly implementing humanitarian access to besieged areas of Syria and initiating a nationwide cessation of hostilities,” a statement from the White House said Sunday. | President Obama spoke by phone with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Saturday to discuss the agreement made Friday and to “stress the importance of rapidly implementing humanitarian access to besieged areas of Syria and initiating a nationwide cessation of hostilities,” a statement from the White House said Sunday. |
| “President Obama emphasized the importance now of Russia playing a constructive role by ceasing its air campaign against moderate opposition forces in Syria,” the statement said. | “President Obama emphasized the importance now of Russia playing a constructive role by ceasing its air campaign against moderate opposition forces in Syria,” the statement said. |
| Highlighting the complexity of the situation in Syria, Turkey over the weekend shelled positions held by a Kurdish militia that is backed by the United States in northern Syria. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said Turkish artillery units fired at Kurdish fighters in the Syrian town of Azaz in Aleppo Province, saying it was in response to incoming Kurdish fire, The Associated Press reported. | Highlighting the complexity of the situation in Syria, Turkey over the weekend shelled positions held by a Kurdish militia that is backed by the United States in northern Syria. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said Turkish artillery units fired at Kurdish fighters in the Syrian town of Azaz in Aleppo Province, saying it was in response to incoming Kurdish fire, The Associated Press reported. |
| On Saturday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France rejected a German proposal for a quota system for distributing refugees in Europe. | On Saturday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France rejected a German proposal for a quota system for distributing refugees in Europe. |
| Discussion at the conference on Sunday focused on the plan to cease hostilities in Syria within a week and recriminations about the failure of the Obama administration, and others, to have intervened more forcefully or to have anticipated the spreading turmoil. | Discussion at the conference on Sunday focused on the plan to cease hostilities in Syria within a week and recriminations about the failure of the Obama administration, and others, to have intervened more forcefully or to have anticipated the spreading turmoil. |
| Mr. McCain, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, said on Sunday he wished he could regard the truce plan as a breakthrough. More likely, he said, it was a move that “permits the assault on Aleppo to continue for another week,” thus locking in Russian military superiority and allowing the forces of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to take back more territory from rebels. | Mr. McCain, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, said on Sunday he wished he could regard the truce plan as a breakthrough. More likely, he said, it was a move that “permits the assault on Aleppo to continue for another week,” thus locking in Russian military superiority and allowing the forces of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to take back more territory from rebels. |
| Mr. McCain, who traditionally heads the congressional delegation to Munich each year, suggested that Mr. Putin was relying on ever more powerful shows of force to reassert his country’s role as a dominant global power. “His appetite is growing with the eating,” Mr. McCain said, adding, “We have seen this movie before in Ukraine.” | Mr. McCain, who traditionally heads the congressional delegation to Munich each year, suggested that Mr. Putin was relying on ever more powerful shows of force to reassert his country’s role as a dominant global power. “His appetite is growing with the eating,” Mr. McCain said, adding, “We have seen this movie before in Ukraine.” |
| Mr. Röttgen was also strongly critical of Russia. He urged Western powers to learn from events in Syria, particularly in regard to Europe’s security. He said that more needed to be spent on defense and that Europe, while still needing the United States, should not rely on America for its safety. | Mr. Röttgen was also strongly critical of Russia. He urged Western powers to learn from events in Syria, particularly in regard to Europe’s security. He said that more needed to be spent on defense and that Europe, while still needing the United States, should not rely on America for its safety. |
| “Russia has gained the upper hand in the region. and this is, by historical measure, a novelty,” Mr. Röttgen said. “They have done so by the use of armed force.” | “Russia has gained the upper hand in the region. and this is, by historical measure, a novelty,” Mr. Röttgen said. “They have done so by the use of armed force.” |
| Other speakers at the conference singled out the Obama administration for failing to act in 2013 after Mr. Obama said the use of chemical weapons by Mr. Assad would cross a “red line” that demanded American action. | Other speakers at the conference singled out the Obama administration for failing to act in 2013 after Mr. Obama said the use of chemical weapons by Mr. Assad would cross a “red line” that demanded American action. |
| Back then, Russia again intervened, using its influence to get Mr. Assad to agree to put all chemical weapons under United Nations supervision for removal and destruction. Mr. McCain said that that move had destroyed Washington’s credibility, particularly with Saudi Arabia, who he claimed had planes ready to fly air raids on Syria when Mr. Obama accepted the Russian-backed plan on chemical weapons. | Back then, Russia again intervened, using its influence to get Mr. Assad to agree to put all chemical weapons under United Nations supervision for removal and destruction. Mr. McCain said that that move had destroyed Washington’s credibility, particularly with Saudi Arabia, who he claimed had planes ready to fly air raids on Syria when Mr. Obama accepted the Russian-backed plan on chemical weapons. |