The Capture of Palmyra: Victory in Battle, but Not a Turning Point

... hundreds of private military contractors. IS online resources, in turn, reported several Russian military dead. This information was later partially confirmed by the Kremlin. As of today, the crucial problem for Moscow is how to take advantage of the Palmyra victory at the Syria talks. It is the continued fight against IS that will become a stumbling block to the negotiation process and a trading tool in Russia’s hands. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail Andrey Kortunov: Post-Syrian Russia and Middle East Apart from the overall geopolitical benefit, Moscow urgently seeks to legitimize Assad in the eyes of western political community. Therefore, Moscow will try and give impetus to its idea of an antiterrorist coalition. In fact, this coalition ...