Syria: Russia evacuates citizens ahead

of military strikes in the 'next few

days'

Russia has begun to evacuate its citizens from Syria, as its deputy prime minister stated that the West was acting in the Islamic world like "a monkey with a grenade".

Russia's deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Twitter: "The West behaves towards the Islamic world like a monkey with a grenade."

Western allies have told the Syrian rebels to expect a strike against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces within a few days, according to diplomatic sources.

The build up to military action continued today when Chuck Hagel, the United States defence secretary, said that American forces are now ready to act on an order from President Barack Obama to strike Syria.

MPs will be recalled to the House of Commons so they can vote on the UK’s response to the crisis in Syria, David Cameron has said.

Announcing the plans on Twitter the Prime Minister wrote: “Speaker agrees my request to recall Parliament on Thurs. There'll be a clear Govt motion & vote on UK response to chemical weapons attacks.”

The recall comes after Downing Street confirmed that Britain's armed forces are drawing up contingency plans for military action.

The US Navy has four destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea positioned within range of targets inside Syria, as well as warplanes in the region.

Mr Hagel told the BBC that President Obama had asked the Pentagon to give him “all options for all contingencies” and “we have done that”.

“We are prepared. We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfil and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take,” he said.

During Istanbul talks between rebels and envoys from Western powers in the 11-strong “Friends of Syria” alliance, including Robert Ford, senior US official leading negotiations, the Syrian opposition was told that military strikes are imminent.

“The opposition was told in clear terms that action to deter further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime could come as early as in the next few days, and that they should still prepare for peace talks at Geneva,” a source told Reuters.

The foreign ministry stated that Syria will press on with its military efforts despite potential Western military intervention.

"The (government's) military effort will not stop around Damascus. If the purpose is to limit the victories of our armed forces, they will not be successful," Walid al-Moualem, foreign minister, told a news conference in Damascus. "We have two options: either to surrender, or to defend ourselves with the means at our disposal. The second choice is the best: we will defend ourselves."

Mr Moualem said any foreign strike on Syria to try to create a balance of power in the war between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and the rebels is "delusional".

"If the purpose of a possible (foreign) military strike is to achieve a balance of power ... it's delusional and not at all possible," he said.

He warned that a strike would serve to further the interests of al-Qaeda.

"The war effort lead by the United States and their allies will serve the interests of Israel and secondly Al-Nusra Front," he said referring to the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Syria.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russia warned that Western military intervention in Syria would have “catastrophic consequences” for the Middle East as divisions widen between Moscow and Washington.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a press conference in Moscow

Ahead of a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, the Russian foreign ministry has warned the United States and Britain against repeating the experience of Iraq.

“Attempts to bypass the security council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.

“We are calling on our American partners and all members of the world community to demonstrate prudence (and) strict observance of international law, especially the fundamental principles of the UN Charter,” said Alexander Lukashevich, a ministry spokesman.

Iran, Syria's closest ally, echoed the Russian warning during talks with UN officials in Tehran this morning.

"We want to strongly warn against any military attack in Syria. There will definitely be perilous consequences for the region," said Abbas Araqchi, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman.

"These complications and consequences will not be restricted to Syria. It will engulf the whole region."

The US has postponed a meeting with Russia on the Syrian crisis as divisions between the two countries deepen and Washington prepares for military action.

America’s State Department said that it had cancelled a meeting in The Hague between a senior American official and ambassador with a Russian due amid “ongoing consultations about the appropriate response to the chemical weapons attack in Syria on August 21”.

“We will work with our Russian counterparts to reschedule the meeting. As we’ve long made clear it is imperative that we reach a comprehensive and durable political solution to the crisis in Syria,” said an official.

Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said that he regretted the postponement of the meeting in a new rift that bodes ill for agreement at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.

Mr Gatilov made it clear on Twitter that the US had taken the decision unilaterally to postpone the talks and said it was “regrettable”.

“It arouses regret that our partners decided to cancel the bilateral meeting,” he said, adding talks would have been particularly useful at a time “when military action is hanging over” Syria.

_{John Kerry declares that there is "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria}

Russian officials are comparing the possible use of force against Syria to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which was vehemently opposed by Moscow as based on flawed intelligence that Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction.

“Deja-vu,” Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee wrote on Twitter.

“It feels like in the White House it’s still (George W.) Bush, (Dick) Cheney and (Donald) Rumsfeld and in Downing Street Tony Blair,” he said, referring to the former US president, vice president, defence secretary and British prime minister during the Iraq war. “The faces change. But not the politics.”

America and Russia are deeply divided over how to respond to the chemical weapons attack last week and Russian leaders have even suggested it was staged by Syrian rebels.

The US said on Monday there was “very little doubt” that Syrian forces loyal to the Assad regime had used chemical weapons and attacked those, such as Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, who had cast doubt on whether the gas attack had actually taken place.

“Anyone who could claim that an attack of this staggering scale could be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass. What is before us today is real, and it is compelling,” said John Kerry, the US Secretary of State on Monday night.

In stark contrast, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, suggested that video footage that appeared of the aftermath of the alleged attack had been faked, and that if an attack had taken place it was carried out by the rebels.

Mr Kerry said that the US had its own intelligence on the chemical weapons attack and that it would make it available to the international community late this week.

“We have additional information about this attack, and that information is being compiled and reviewed together with our partners, and we will provide that information in the days ahead.”