Putin Responds To Syria Escalation: May "Reinforce Naval Grouping In Mediterranean" Following U.S. Buildup

Tyler Durden zerohedge.com Newton's third law strikes again. Yesterday, when describing the latest US developments in the Syrian "liberation" and "WMD elimination" we pointed out that the "use of war as a culmination point to end a depression is nothing new. Just look at the first Great Depression. And just like then, the only cost to perpetuate the myth of the Keynesian and monetarist religion and the pillaged wealth of the 0.01% status quo elite, will be a few hundred thousand innocent men, women and children. Or, as they are known in the Beltway, collateral damage. That is, unless, Putin decides to retaliate." Moments ago Interfax reported that Russia is starting to pre-emptively, for now, retaliate. More from Interfax:

Russia can increase its military presence in the Mediterranean in the case of the possible enlargement of the U.S. naval grouping in the region in the event of the aggravation of the situation in Syria, President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems Leonid Ivashov believes.

“Russia can increase its naval grouping in the Mediterranean as a reply measure. I think that nothing else remains to prevent the development of the factor of aggression,” he said to Interfax-AVN on Saturday commenting on media reports of the possible increase in U.S. naval presence in the Mediterranean. In his opinion, Russia should point out to the world the most crying violations of the UN Charter concerning Egypt and especially Syria. “We should be speaking more strongly of noninterference in the internal affairs of Syria,” Ivashov said. He said that deliveries of Russian defense systems to the Syrian armed forces could become a lever of influencing the United States and of averting the threat of an attack on Syria.

Will Obama's misreading of the "New Normal" geopolitical balance of power, in which America is rapidly relegating itself from global superpower status and in which Putin most certainly does not see himself as inferior to the US, yet in which there is no actual game theoretical winner if everyone defects (but lots and lots of losers, except for the Fed) force America into a milltary confrontation from which there is no easy and simple way out? We will find out over the next several days.