Escalation: Vladimir Putin Reportedly Threatens Saudi Arabia With Massive Counter-Strike

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin may have taken the middle east conflict to a whole new level according to a new report.

Earlier this month Putin met with Saudi Arabia’s head of intelligence, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, to discuss the situation in Syria. In a stunning leak of minutes from the meeting made public by the UK Telegraph, the Prince offered Russia a strategic pact to control the price, production and distribution of oil throughout Europe in exchange for Russia’s agreement to allow US and British forces unimpeded military action in Syria.

More important than the offer, however, is the veiled threat that followed.

As-Safir said Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia’s naval base in Syria if the Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord. “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” he allegedly said.

Prince Bandar went on to say that Chechens operating in Syria were a pressure tool that could be switched on an off. “These groups do not scare us. We use them in the face of the Syrian regime but they will have no role in Syria’s political future.”

This can be construed only one way.

Saudi Arabia threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with Chechen terrorist attacks during the Olympic games if he doesn’t back off U.S. intervention in Syria.

What the Saudis may not have realized is that Putin is one of the most powerful political figures in the world, and most certainly in the region. He is ex-KGB, believes in the old school of thought of Russian domination, has access to thousands of nuclear weapons, and isn’t afraid to go to war. And he probably doesn’t take well to threats from middle eastern Princes.

According to insiders, Putin was furious about the threat from Saudi Arabia (and by proxy, the United States). So much so that it has been claimed that his counter-offer to Saudi Arabia was severe.

If the United States moves forward with an attack on Syria, the Russians would respond with a massive military counter-strike targeting Saudi Arabia.

A grim “urgent action memorandum” issued today from the office of President Putin to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is ordering a “massive military strike” against Saudi Arabia in the event that the West attacks Syria.

According to Kremlin sources familiar with this extraordinary “war order,” Putin became “enraged” after his early August meeting with Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan who warned that if Russia did not accept the defeat of Syria, Saudi Arabia would unleash Chechen terrorists under their control to cause mass death and chaos during the Winter Olympicsscheduled to be held 7-23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

…

With Putin’s previous order, and as we had reported on in our 17 May report “Russia Issues “All-Out War” Alert Over Syria,” and now combined with his new ordering of massive retaliatory strikes against Saudi Arabia, any attack on Syria is viewed by Russia as being an attack on itself.

EU Times

The Saudis really should have thought this one through before getting involved.

You don’t mess with Vladimir Putin unless you’ve got a really, really big army (and some nukes) to back up your threats.