Vladimir Putin
Did Putin win in Syria? Or is he cutting his losses? Pavel K. Baev and Sergey Aleksashenko Monday, March 21, 2016 BY PUTIN’S OWN DEFINITION, RUSSIA WON IN SYRIA By Sergey Aleksashenko Pavel and I agree that while the withdrawal of Russian military power from Syria came as a surprise in the immediate sense, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to pull out was logical given the circumstances he faced in Syria. Where we differ is in our assessment of whether Putin essentially won at his own game in Syria. I argue that he did, and that the West misunderstands that—which will make it harder for the West to predict his next moves. First, when Putin deployed Russian armed forces in Syria last September, these were his goals: Returning Russia to great-power status and participating as such in international dialogues, particularly on the Middle East; Resisting the West, particularly its efforts to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad; Preserving Syria as a unified state that remains a Russian ally (and one ready to buy Russian weapons and provide territory for Russian military bases), as well as ending the Syrian civil war and launching an internal political dialogue; Forming a partnership with Iran, including with the aim to promote the economic interests of Russian oil and gas companies and arms manufacturers; and Forming a broad coalition with the participation of the United States, Russia, Iran,...
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