The official’s warning came in response to the USA welcoming reaction to Saudi Arabia’s offer to send ground troops to Syria and Russia’s subsequent warning that Saudi Arabia’s proposed troop deployment in Syria would be regarded as a declaration of war.
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“Any ground intervention in Syria, without the consent of the Syrian government, will be considered an aggression that should be resisted by every Syrian citizen”, he told a news conference in Damascus. Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri said the kingdom was willing to participate in such efforts “because we believe that aerial operations are not the ideal solution, and there must be a twin mix of aerial and ground operations”. “I regret to say that they will return home in wooden coffins”.
Iran has warned Saudi Arabia that their troops will be wiped out in Syria if they “dare” to invade the country, after Riyadh expressed eagerness to deploy their army to the war-zone earlier this week if the US-led coalition decides that such an operation is necessary. “Apparently, they see no other way but this, and if this is the case, then their fate is sealed”, Jafari said.
“I think Saudi Arabia is desperate to do something in Syria”, said Andreas Krieg, of the Department of Defence Studies at King’s College London. “Even if they send troops, they would be definitely defeated … it would be suicide”, Jafari was quoted as saying.
“Saudi Arabia is not a neighboring country to Syria, as Iraq and Jordan separate both the countries”, writes Mr.al-Rashed.
However, news of Saudi Arabia sending ground forces into Syria has met resistance from two of the other major parties involved in the conflict – Iran and the Syrian government itself. A number of Iranians have been killed in recent months, including several high-ranking commanders.
Until now, the Saudis have limited their involvement to arming and supplying certain rebel groups in Syria.
The United States has been calling on coalition members to do more.
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The talks broke down in large part because of Syrian government offensives, including on the outskirts of Aleppo, the country’s largest city and one-time commercial center. “They did not come to have dialogue, they did not have such orders”, he said. In a statement Saturday, the group called on the U.N. Security Council to denounce the Russian actions.
