Saudi, US Discussed Syria Ground Intervention

Riyadh said that it had discussed with Washington the possibility of a ground incursion in Syria two weeks ago but they have not made a decision.

Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud and his counterparts from the 65-member US-led coalition addressed the issue “two weeks ago in Brussels,” the Saudi minister’s advisor Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said on Monday.

“It was discussed at the political level but it wasn’t discussed as a military mission,” he said. “Once this is organized, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that.”

The coalition has been conducting air raids inside Syria since September 2014.

The airstrikes have no authorization from the Syrian government or the UN and have fallen severely short of uprooting Takfiri ISIL terrorists, their declared target.

Saudi Arabia has recently been jostling for involvement in a potential ground intervention in Syria. Earlier, Riyadh offered to contribute special forces to such a mission and was met, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, with Washington’s “very supportive and very positive” reaction.

Washington itself has deployed special forces to eastern Syria in what it claims is an effort to shore up local militias against ISIL.
Source: Press TV - almanar.com.lb
1/3/16
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