Oil in exchange for blood

“Kremlin cook” Evgeny Prigozhin is mentioned in the leak of intelligence USA as a possible provocateur of the first direct clashes of Russians with Americans in Syria

A week ago, special prosecutor Robert Muller, investigating the “Russian presidential election intervention”, accused the Russian businessman of illegal banking operations and the long -term management of the Information War. In the case of leaving the territory of the Russian Federation, Prigozhin and another 12 employees of the Troll Factory may wait for an official request for extradition to America to conduct a trial here. Now it is reported that in addition to the manufacture of “poisoned propaganda” for American voters, the “Kremlin cook” directly stood behind the scandalous military operation in Syria.

Washington Post, citing sources in American intelligence, announced that the Russian authorities knew about the military offensive of the Syrian government group, which included employees of the PMC Wagner in the Province of Deir Ez-Zor on the night of February 7 to 8. It seems that American intelligence has access to the correspondence of Evgeny Prigozhin. She claims that the businessman, who is associated with coordination in Syria, “Wagner PMCs”, was in close contact with the Kremlin and Syrian officials a few days and weeks before and after the battle.

On January 24, Prigozhin informed a kind of high -ranking Syrian official that he had “received permission” from an unnamed Russian minister to move forward with a “quick and powerful” initiative in early February, and he expects consent from the Syrian government.

In the report on January 30, Prigozhin says that he has a “good surprise” for Syria President Bashar al -Assad, who “awaits him from 6 to 9 February”.

The Minister of President of Syria, Muhammad Fadlallah Azzam, promised Prigozhin a fee for his work .

At the same time, American intelligence reports record an increase in Prigovin's frequency in this period of time with officials from the Presidential Administration, including the head of the administration Anton Vaino and his deputy Vladimir Ostrovenko. The conversations continued until February 5 and resumed immediately after the attack in Deir ez-Zor.

The question arises: are Russian oligarchs and higher officials really under the wiretapping of the CIA or NSA? If so, how long does it happen?

And why did they not protect our cyber-Umelians, breaking “everyone and everyone”?! Or should we wait for new disruptions in Moscow in the spirit of “All you are lying”, “Where is the evidence”?

The Pentagon sparsely and reluctantly speaks of this first direct combat clash of Americans and Russians . Defense Minister James Mattis and the head of the central command of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigyan, said American intelligence saw the mobilization of the Syrian forces in the Deir Ez-Zor area a week before February 7. The Americans warned the Russian side that in the event of the start of Assad’s forces at the US allies from the Syrian opposition near the strategically important oil fields a few kilometers from the coast of the Euphrates “they will be reborn”.

According to Minister Mattis, “the Russians said that they did not know anything about the impending offensive” and assured the American command that Russians were not among the participants in this operation. In the attack on the base, where the American military advisers were at that moment, after the corresponding artillery, a detachment of 300 to 500 people participated. In response, a powerful airline lasted three hours followed. After some time, the Russian military entered the Americans with a request to stop the bombing and give the opportunity to carry the wounded. "Are you there?" - answered the Americans. However, this is only a version in the media.

From the American side - the military prefer to keep silence about this clash, only a few details are known to the public.

At a Pentagon in the Pentagon on February 8, the official representative of the US Ministry of Defense Dana White said that the coalition forces did not answer until the artillery shells of the advancing fell within a radius of 1640 feet (500 meters) from the headquarters of the Syrian democratic forces (SDF) supported by the United States. The Minister of Defense Mattis (nicknamed the "frantic dog") called this incident "puzzling." The pentagon chief noted: “I can’t give any explanation” that pro -government Syrian forces crossed the river and struck the base of the opposition and American forces. ”

Last Sunday, when the minister was returning from a tour of Europe, he was asked if he believed that the Russian government was responsible for his "mercenaries" fighting in Syria. The minister responded diplomatically: “I prefer not to answer this question now, I need more information for a competent answer.”

A senior representative of the Trump administration, who commented on anonymity, called the incident “disturbing”. He added that he was surprised, "how quickly the Russians were distanced" from what he called "the operation under the Syrian command and the execution of Syrian orders."

The American president did not comment on the incident in the province of Deir ez-Zor. However, on Friday, during the joint with Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Ternbull, the press conference in the White House Trump called the actions of Russia, Iran and the Syria authorities “humanitarian dishonor”, ​​first of all, the exacerbation of the Eastern Guta in the area. According to him, Russia and Iran, supporting Assad, pursue a destructive policy. “The fact that these three countries have made people during the last period of time is a shame,” the US president announced.

The use of the "Wagner PMC" in military operations in Syria and other places likes the Kremlin "thin layer of non -involvement",

Michael Carpenter, a former White House employee, is believed by the former White House, who worked in the Obama administration: “It is even more important that this allows Russian forces to attack the Syrian opposition, while regular Russian armed forces will not venture to go to this out of the escalation fears (with the US Coalition).”

The American press quotes one of the former commanders of the Wagner PMC about how they are fighting for Assad in Syria:

“The fighters of Wagner are the first to go and do their work, then Russian ground forces come and then Arabs and television cameras.”

According to the Western media, in Syria there are 2.5 thousand fighters of the Wagner PMC, who are paid up to 300 thousand rubles per month. The Russian press called much more modest numbers.

According to Andrew Weiss, the expert of the Carnegie Washington Foundation, Prigozhin made himself “indispensable for the Kremlin”: “On the one hand, he is at the very tip of the spear, for example, when he conducts information operations against America. On the other hand, he is deeply involved in the activities of the Ministry of Defense and provides military forces and other services. ”

The American media recall that even before the Syrian events Prigozhin and the “Wagner PMC” fell into US sanctions lists due to Ukrainian events.

Prigogine has been under sanctions since December 2016. Then the American treasury noted the “intensive ties” of the businessman from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and his involvement in the construction of a new military base on the border with Ukraine.

“Wagner PMC, as well as Prigozhinsky companies“ Concord Catering and Concord Management End Consulting ”fell on the“ black list ”a little later - in June last year. And last month, the US Department of Finance adopted sanctions against Evro Polis, which is associated with Prigozhin-because of Syria. In the American treasury, this company was called a Russian company that concluded a contract with the Syria government to protect oil fields in exchange for a share of 25% in oil and gas production from deposits in the territories repelled by ISIS ”( a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation ). Most of these territories are located on the east coast of the Euphrates.

On the one hand, the Russian and American military in Syria established and support almost daily telephone contacts in order to prevent random losses of troops and aviation. With its silence, the Pentagon makes it clear that after a military visual action, further comments are not needed.

On the other side,

If the leaks of American intelligence are true that the attack on the base was agreed through Prigozhin “at the very top”, then we can talk about large -scale provocation. Much more dangerous than by Russian aircraft of American warships and rapprochement with aircraft.

What happened requires explanations, which, however, we may not wait - neither from Washington, nor even from Moscow.