... modernization — including a continued buildup of forces stationed along the border with Ukraine in order to give Moscow more instruments for intervening in the course of the... ... same time, Moscow will desist from any tangible military buildup in the European (northwestern) theater, despite the mutually belligerent rhetoric by NATO and Russia, and... ... programs have effectively been pushed back to the mid-2020s or even beyond 2027.
In Syria, Putin will keep trying to convert the military success of the Russian intervention...
... instability is no longer a Kremlin fantasy but indeed objective reality.
To be sure, the Ukraine crisis and the ‘Russian world’ discourse have together been part... ... this very quickly. It has taken its foot off the pedal, as it were.
The operation in Syria is a different case altogether, consistent with a national objective of regaining... ... capacity to carry out such missions on a regular basis. The offer of cooperation with the West in this field demonstrates co-equal status. And Moscow’s readiness to abruptly...
... that Ukraine will reduce in its importance on the international stage and in particular that it will be less important to the Russia – West relationship. There may well be people who wish that Ukraine would become less important to Russia – West relationship and that, seeking cooperation, if it’s possible, on challenges like Syria might make the Ukraine problem go away. It would be a misguided view, and until and unless we come to some understanding about how to resolve the Ukrainian crisis in the heart of Europe there will a big problem in Russia – West relations, and it will not reduce ...
