(Gulf News) Nearly two and a half years after the Russian military began an intensive bombing campaign in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Russia is struggling to engineer a political solution in the war-ravaged country, analysts say.
The Kremlin has presented its landmark Syria operation as a success, shrugging off western criticism over the killing of civilians while claiming to have withdrawn a significant part of its forces.
But the Russian military is still fighting, and President Vladimir Putin has so far failed to secure a deal deemed acceptable to other world powers to allow him to end the intervention.
“During the battle against Daesh, it was easier for the various parties (Russia, Turkey, Iran, US) to find common ground. Now that the fight against Daesh is over, each has its own agenda and Russia is suddenly lost,” said Pavel Baev from the Oslo Peace Research Institute. […]
“Russia is under pressure from Israel and the United States to moderate Al Assad’s dependence on Iran, which pays for the regime’s security. But Moscow does not have enough financial resources” to take the place of Tehran, argues Baev. […]
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