Dmitry Medvedev says proposal to send Arab ground forces to fight ISIL “draws everyone” into war.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned that the deployment of foreign ground troops in the Syrian conflict could result in a world war, according to Al Jazeera report on 12 Feb 2016.
Medvedev was quoted as saying in an interview published late on Thursday by the German newspaper Handelsblatt that “a ground operation draws everyone taking part in it into a war”.
When asked about a recent proposal from Saudi Arabia to send ground troops into Syria, the Russian prime minister answered that “the Americans and our Arab partners must consider whether or not they want a permanent war”.
Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Moscow, said Medvedev’s comments were an explicit warning to the United States and its regional allies, including Saudi Arabia.
US defense Chief Ashton Carter, meanwhile, welcomed a commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand its role with ground troops in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
At a gathering of more than two dozen defense ministers at NATO headquarters, Carter said on Friday that the United Arab Emirates, a key ally, agreed to send Special Forces soldiers to Syria to assist in the development of local Sunni Arab fighters focused on recapturing Raqqa, ISIL’s de facto capital.
Carter declined to say how many Emirati commandos would go to Syria. He said they would be part of an effort led by the US and bolstered by Saudi Special Forces to train and enable local Arab fighters who are motivated to recapture Raqqa.
Saudi Arabia’s Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said his country was ready to send troops into Syria if there was a consensus in the anti-ISIL coalition. But he declined to elaborate, saying: “It is too early to talk about such options. Today we are talking at the strategic level.”