Global Research Editor’s Note

This report confirms that the US and its allies have given the “green light” to their proxy Free Syria Army (FSA) foot-soldiers to threaten and target Russian and Ukrainian nationals.

The decision did not emanate from the “opposition” rebel forces, but directly from Washington.

It is a deliberate act of provocation directed against the Russian government which is providing military support to Syria, in relation to its air defense system.

Washington and its allies directly support the various terrorist entities which compose rebel forces. French, British, Turkish and Qatari special forces are involved in the recruitment and training of FSA rebels, which are in large part mercenaries. The latter are now targeting Russian citizens in Syria on the orders of Washington, leading to a potential breakdown in international diplomacy.

Michel Chossudovsky, December 15, 2012

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The Free Syrian Army has committed an affront to all humanity by kidnapping and threatening to execute a female Ukrainian journalist and announcing that they will kill all Russians and Ukrainians they find in Syria. This could be taken to be akin to a declaration of war, obviously the armed insurgents in Syria have been emboldened to a point that they have stepped into an area where they are beyond the law.

With the terrorists also threatening Russian and Ukrainian Diplomatic Missions this could set off a chain of events that may pull the Russian Federation directly into the conflict. If the lives of Russians are at risk Russia has the right to protect its citizens and to assist unaligned Ukraine if there is such a request.

The world knows the Free Syrian Army is supported by the US and the West and if the Russian Federation was forced to consider entering Syria militarily this would make such a decision extremely dangerous. The security, in this case for the diplomatic missions, lies with Syria as does the freeing of the hostage, but if the Syrian Government hypothetically requests Russian assistance, how will this affect the position of the US and the West who have battle groups poised to invade the country at a moment’s notice?

If you are pretending to be my friend but paying and supporting criminals who have threatened to kill my family and loved ones then wouldn’t it be logical to say that you are my enemy and that if I want to save my loved ones then I should neutralize the threat, including you?

Take this to a larger level and consider that Russia has dealt in a civilized manner with the backers of the so called Free Syrian Army, terrorists, killers and mercenaries operating in Syria and who openly threaten to kill Russians, Ukrainians and Iranians, attack and kill civilians and execute unarmed civilians, in reality what would the reaction be? If the Free Syrian Army had kidnapped an American and threatened to destroy the US and UK Missions, what would the reaction be?

One might argue that the Free Syrian Army which has effectively declared war on Russia, Ukraine and Iran, and since they are backed by the West this might appear to be a proxy declaration. The US of course would not declare war on Russia or Iran. Formal Declarations of War are not something the US does, just like they did not declare war on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yugoslavia, Syria and Iran.

For all of the cowboy diplomacy of the West and their macho bravado and military might the men hiding in their comfortable bunkers and command rooms and expensive suburban homes are slippery creatures who fight their battles by proxy and use pretexts designed and carried out in secret. They will therefore provide material and financial support to terrorist organizations such as the Free Syrian Army when it is expedient, but will they back away from their proxies now that they have stated “Let not a single Russian, Ukrainian or Iranian come out of Syria alive”?

The US Government has officially recognized an umbrella group of mainly foreign terrorist organizations, as the official representative of the Syrian people, and almost immediately the main US surrogate threatens to execute a Ukrainian woman journalist. IF you had doubts before, have no doubt now, these are not “freedom fighters” they are coward criminals. Who would execute a woman? Not even any self-respecting Muslim terrorist extremist would stoop so low.

The journalist who was kidnapped, Anhar Kochneva has been stationed in Syria for years and has been instrumental in getting the true picture out of Syria on many occasions, one reason why she is obviously a target for the West and its surrogates as they continue their information war to justify an invasion. She has done work for several Russian media outlets, including the NTV, RenTV and RT television channels and the Utro.Ru news portal and according to RIA Novosti has been a vocal supporter of President Bashar Al Assad.

According to the site Syria News online “That the joint statement of the Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), ARTICLE 19, the International Press Institute also calls on the British, French and US governments as well as on the European Union (UN) to work with “their” external staged Syrian opposition in order to facilitate the release of the journalist Anhar Kochneva is also not surprising. It either shows who are the masterminds and supporters behind the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) or who is really responsible for this (expletive) situation in Syria.”

In normal world we might see Russian and Ukrainian Special Forces alongside Syrian Special Services launching a rescue operation and wiping out the Free Syrian Army for making the declarations they have made, surely if the same thing happened to America, that would be the case, but as we all know who is behind all of this we know that this would kick off what might well be Word War III, something no one wants.

Kiev demands freedom for kidnapped journalist

Ukraine has called on the Syrian authorities to take decisive steps to free Ankhar Kochneva, a Ukrainian journalist kidnapped in Syria on October 10.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Dikusarov said Kiev expected more tangible results from regime’s action to secure a safe release of the Ukrainian.

“Ukraine demands an immediate release of Ankhar Kochneva and will take action to get the issue of violence against a civilian into international discussion,” Mr. Dikusarov said.

Ukraine hopes this act of rebel violence will be harshly condemned and punished by the international community, he added.

Ankhar Kochneva worked as an interpreter for a Russian TV crew when she was kidnapped by Syrian militants. The same day, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovich gave instructions to the country’s foreign office to do everything possible to free the journalist.

Ukrainian journalist life threatened in Syria

Syrian militants are threatening to execute journalist Ankhar Kochneva. They are demanding 50 million U.S. dollars for her life. The ultimatum that was signed by the field commanders of the paramilitary wing of the opposition Free Syrian Army expires on December 13th.

Militants say that Ankhar Kochneva is a “Ukrainian spy”. Kochneva, a Ukrainian citizen, lived in Russia for the past 10 years. In January this year she went to Syria to work there as a journalist and translator. Ankhar Kochneva is the author of many interesting and exciting reports for Russian media outlets.

The Voice of Russia “contacted” her when it was necessary to comment on the situation in the hot spots in Syria, including Homs. Whenever a call from Moscow came, Ankhar Kochneva was always at a combat post.

Her reports were always different from the picture presented by the Al Jazeera TV Channel and other media that supported the fight of the irreconcilable opposition against the Syrian authorities. Most likely, it was exactly her objective opinion about the developments in Syria that pushed all those who are standing up for militants to kidnap Ankhar which occurred on October 7th .

In a November 28th video address she asked Russia’s and Ukraine’s governments to fulfill the kidnappers’ demands. For their part, a number of Russian media outlets urged Syrian ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad to do all in his power so that Ankhar Kochneva could be freed as soon as possible. The Russian Committee of Solidarity with the Peoples of Libya and Syria is making efforts in this direction, one of the heads of the non-governmental organization Darya Mitina says.

“The ultimatum, delivered by the militants, is urging the parties concerned to start searching for non-trivial solutions as well as for an advancement in the talks. Regrettably, for the time being, the means to influence the militants are limited. We have applied to international human rights and journalist agencies with a request to pay continued attention to this topic on both radio and television. There is little information about the kidnapping attack now, taking into account the role Kochneva played in the public information space.”

As a rule, no details are given about talks with kidnappers or about the ransom terms. Judging by the facts, the talks are currently under way. An expert with the Institute of Oriental Studies, Vladimir Isayev, says:

“Russia has established contacts with the Syrian opposition. Some time ago talks with opposition representatives were held in Moscow. However, I don’t think that they are involved in the kidnapping. Therefore, I don’t know whether Russia has any possibility or any contacts to influence the opposition and thus, to ensure the release of Ankhar Cochneva. And quite another matter is the fact that Russia can appeal to all those who support the Syrian opposition – for example, to Turkey with which top-level talks were recently held.”

A week after Ankhar Kochneva was kidnapped, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych gave instructions to his aides to do everything possible for secure her release. This occurred on October 15th . No other reports about Kiev’s stand have come since then.

Syrian rebels threaten Ukrainian journalist with death

A group of Syrian rebels have threatened to kill the Ukrainian journalist captured on October 9 if they are not paid a ransom.

The deadline for the ransom payment is set for December 13, 2012, the journalist’s friend and Russian ex-MP Darya Mitina has told reporters. “If the money isn’t paid by that time, she will be killed as a ‘Ukrainian spy’,” she added.

Ankhar Kochneva’s relatives have confirmed that the kidnappers contacted them and demanded a ransom but said they didn’t believe December 13 was the deadline.

Kochneva’s nephew Dmitry was cited as saying he had no detail of negotiations to free his aunt. “The foreign office is saying they are working on it. But we don’t know what exactly is being done,” he said.

Journalist kidnapped in Syria messages her husband

Ankhar Kochneva, a Ukrainian journalist who went missing in Syria on October 10, contacted her relatives for the first time on Sunday, saying she hoped everything would be fine and asking not to call her.

Kochneva’s ex-husband Dmitry Petrov told Russia’s Izvestia newspaper he had received an SMS from the journalist’s phone number reading: “I hope for the best. Don’t message me.”

A similar text was reportedly sent to one of her friends. In it Koncheva also mentioned that she had been kidnapped.

The Russian embassy in Damascus has shown active support of Ukrainian authorities in their search for the 40-year-old, who was believed to be an active advocate of the Assad regime.

She was allegedly abducted by Syrian rebels in the outskirts of Homs. Russian journalist Yelena Gromova confessed she and her close friend Ankhar Koncheva often received threatening messages from the Moscow-based Syrian opposition on social networking sites.

Ukrainian journalist kidnapped in Syria

Ankhar Kochneva, a journalist kidnapped in Syria, was a Ukrainian national, said Sergei Marov, spokesman of the Russian embassy in Damascus.

“It’s become known to the Russian embassy that she was a citizen of Ukraine. She wasn’t accredited to work here [in Syria],” he reported.

Mr. Markov said the Russian diplomatic mission was closely cooperating with Ukrainian officials looking for the journalist.

Ankhar Kochneva went missing Friday. Her friend Darya Mitina said she was last seen 20 kilometers from the city of Homs.

Voice of Russia, RIA, Rosbalt, Interfax