MESOP TODAYS TOP OF THE AGENDA SYRIA / ANALYSIS BY RELEVANT RESSOURCES : Andrei Kolesnikov (Syndicate) / ECONOMIST / FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Russian Air Strikes in Syria Arouse Concern

Russian security forces continued carrying out air strikes in Syria for a second day on Thursday, amid concerns (WaPo) that its forces are not only targeting the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Russian air strikes appear to have also hit (WSJ) areas controlled by rebels, including U.S.-backed moderate rebels, according to a U.S. official. A spokesman for the Kremlin said that Russia would target (AP) the Islamic State as well as other militant groups.

ANALYSIS

“Putin’s critics rightly see his Syrian adventure as yet another appeal to Russian nostalgia for the Soviet past: the USSR was mighty—and Putin claims that Russia can and does have the same power. But to what end? Wrong-footing the United States and the West may be good tactics in the short term, but there seems to be no long-term vision of the purposes that Russian power is supposed to serve, other than to preserve the power of Russia’s elites,” writes Andrei Kolesnikov in Project Syndicate.

“Mr Putin knows the art of exploiting an opponent’s weakness: when America steps back, he pushes forward. Yet being an opportunist does not equip him to fix Syria. And the more he tries to save Mr Assad the more damage he will cause in Syria and the region—and the greater the risk that his moment of bravado will turn to hubris,” writes the Economist.

“Obama faces a dilemma. The U.S.-led anti-ISIS campaign is going nowhere fast. It is worth exploring whether Moscow’s military involvement in Syria might be leveraged to weaken the extremist group. Obama should be open to working with Moscow on new diplomatic proposals to end the Syrian war. But he would be right to make clear that the United States will do so only if Moscow restricts its use of force to the anti-ISIS campaign. At this point, both sides probably need to avoid dealing with the issue of Assad directly if a constructive diplomatic path is to be found,” writes David F. Gordon in Foreign Affairs.

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