... significant ups or downs in these relations have produced direct and visible implications for the Russian posture in the Eastern Mediterranean. For example, it would not be an over-exaggeration to argue that the initial Russian military engagement in Syria in the autumn of 2015 had a significant ‘pedagogical’ dimension—after a spectacular Western failure in Libya and a less than impressive US performance in Iraq, Vladimir Putin clearly intended to teach the West how to ‘fix’ a MENA country....
... and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policy to transform Turkey into an independent regional player. Although Ankara sought to assert a separate position from the United States, it still found itself on the same side of U.S. policy on the Syrian Civil War, albeit with different aims than Washington. Turkish-Russian competition in Syria was especially intense, culminating in the
Turkish shootdown of a Russian
Sukhoi
Su-24
over the Syrian airspace on 24 November 2015.
Pietro Shakarian:
...
On November 9, 2021, the International Crisis Group (ICG) held an international expert workshop on the current situation in Syria
On November 9, 2021, the International Crisis Group (ICG) held an international expert workshop on the current situation in Syria.
The meeting focused on the state of affairs in Idlib, the situation in the Kurdish-controlled northern regions of ...
On November 2, 2021, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) with the The Carter Center held a round table “Conflict Resolution in Syria in Light of Global and Regional Developments”.
On November 2, 2021, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) with the The Carter Center held a round table “Conflict Resolution in Syria in Light of Global and Regional Developments”....
... of the project “A New Agenda for Russia–UK Relations”
On October 27, 2021, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) held a closed workshop on approaches of Russia and the UK in Iran and Syria. The workshop was organized within the framework of the sixth round of the project “A New Agenda for Russia–UK Relations”.
The goals of the meeting were to discuss the interests of Russia and UK in the Middle East, and to search for convergence ...
The Kremlin succeeded in making its presence in Syria stable, financially affordable and generally acceptable to the Russian public. The White House failed to do the same in Afghanistan
The U.S. intervention in Afghanistan was launched in October 2001 to be nearly two decades long. Russia’s military ...
... mentioned before, Russia has lost interest in Libya for practical reasons. For some time, the country was considered a Western fiasco; and as such, it was apodictically left for the West to deal with. This is especially true for the period since 2015, when Syria has stolen all the available effort. The Syrian file left a lot of room for speculation. Many “specialists” posited that Russia entered Syria to make itself indispensable as a party to the regional mediation process and, which is much more exotic,...
The situation in Syria has not been resolved and is not yet close to a geopolitical equilibrium
The world community survived the UN vote on the mechanism for delivering cross-border aid to Syria. On the agenda was the issue of the Bab al-Hawa checkpoint, which stopped ...
... pressed to choose, Russia should side more with Egypt and the UAE, especially since the latter can open doors for Russia in other regions if their partnership reaches the strategic level through cooperation here and elsewhere.
Levant: Resolving the War in Syria
Russia must somehow resolve the Syrian dilemma, ideally by pairing an Iranian withdrawal with the nuclear deal, sanctions relief for Syria, and some form of decentralization that is acceptable to Damascus. Moscow must also ensure that Turkish influence ...
... dependence on Eastern Eurasia (China).
It is yet to be articulated and—perhaps—is not consciously understood even by most Russian policymakers as it began in a somewhat
ad hoc
fashion after the country’s decisive anti-terrorist intervention in Syria in 2015. What is therefore needed is a clear understanding of what is happening in this broad swath of geostrategic space with a special attention paid to the challenges, opportunities and narrative engagement for optimizing Russia’s grand strategy ...