what does russia want in syria
The next crucial issue to follow, while analyzing the Syrian intervention’s significance for Russia’s foreign policy, is Moscow’s capability to account for past negative experience, whether its own or that of others. In 1980, Leonid Brezhnev, the former leader of the U.S.S.R., signed a "treaty of friendship" with Hafez, Assad's father. Russia's president stood before the general assembly sounding ready to lead peace efforts in Syria. And that’s for rule over just a part of Syria. Here are five key reasons Russia won't be leaving Syria any time soon. Islamist rebels from the southern Russian republic of Chechnya have been fighting for independence since the 1990s, although a brutal six-year campaign by Moscow silenced much opposition and the autonomous region is now firmly under the control of Russian-appointed leader Ramzan Kadyrov. International analysis of Russia’s military action in Syria has been mostly focused on the main goals of the campaign. Even the 2008 operation in Georgia was close to its borders and fought against a well-known enemy. Here are five key reasons Russia won’t be leaving Syria any time soon. Russia has significant economic and military interests in Syria, such as a Mediterranean naval base at Tartus, that it is determined to keep. What else does Russia want in Syria? The first thing to note here is a more consistent effort by Russia to make the operation in Syria transparent. After months of heightened tensions in the Syrian province of Idlib, the last stronghold of the Syrian opposition, Russia and Turkey seem to have reached a temporary solution. But Syria hasn't been among its big customers; China, India, Algeria and Vietnam have. It seeks what all other nations seek and are entitled to, self-preservation. Russia is already one of the world's biggest arms producers. It is very difficult in this situation to pretend that there are sustainable alliances or long-time friends that an outside power can rely on in the Middle East. What does Russia seek in Syria? One can argue the effectiveness of this PR effort, yet it is a big step forward compared to Russia’s actions during the 2008 Georgia campaign, when Moscow sluggishly reacted to Georgia’s moves to win over international sympathies. The usual explanations are that Syria buys lots of Russian arms and that the Syrian port of Tartus is an important "base" for Russia's Mediterranean Fleet. Russia has significant economic and military interests in Syria, such as a Mediterranean naval base at Tartus, that it is determined to keep. Many observers are now making parallels between Syria and the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. Obviously, not all comparisons are correct. Chaos in the Middle East impact Russia long before in affects the United States. Not that Russia has used military threats as foreign policy instrument, but from time to time, one could hear critics asking: why exactly Russia should be regarded as a main power? What else does Russia want in Syria? Russia has been the target of repeated brutal terrorist attacks carried out by jihadist rebels. The latter marked the first time since the end of the Cold War that Russia entered an armed conflict outside the borders of the former Soviet Union. But as we have shown above, some important facts of Russia’s behavior in the international arena are already obvious during its military campaign in Syria. The challenge now is to consolidate those gains. Soon, the world will have more evidence by which to judge Russia’s readiness for this type of fight. Even some American pundits have noticed that Obama’s decision to send fifty U.S. special forces to Syria could be considered a response to Russia’s actions. That has not been the case with Syria, where Russia is conducting a type of campaign lately seen executed only by the United States or under American leadership. But Russia had even more homework to do before the Syrian operation. They shouldn’t have. Both theories are simplistic. At this point, it is too early to say if Russia did its “homework”. Moscow (CNN)It was the largest city in Syria before the war, and for years has been a main rebel stronghold. The start of Russian intervention in Syria expanded configuration of forces in the Middle East and highlighted the Kremlin’s tasks in this country. The opposition wants Assad, who has ruled Syria for 17 years, to relinquish power. With the United States voluntarily giving up much of its leverage in Syria, Russia has probably the most to gain. Experts can spend years studying doctrines of foreign policy and speeches of decision makers, yet remain unable to decipher how the country in question would act in various circumstances. Russia is not building an empire, it seeks to stop one that threatens its existence from reaching its borders with proxies that include Neo-Nazis, terrorists, and NATO forces themselves. This time, the Kremlin has even demonstrated efforts to reach to the anti-Assad opposition. Aleppo is the regime's most prized target and such regime gains would have been unimaginable for before. Thirdly, Russia wants to return as a full-fledged player in the Mediterranean basin through Syria. Middle Eastern affairs are in a state of constant flux, and grow even more so every year. Throughout the Syrian civil war, Russia … In general, the Russian military is operating, in many senses, on unfamiliar terrain. Russia’s actions were not simply opportunistic and dictated by short-term tactical thinking. This task has two dimensions: one of them is military, and the other is political. The jury is still out on what Moscow is trying to achieve and how its decision to intervene in Syria will be executed, but the strategic courage of Russian foreign policy is beyond doubt. The Israeli government’s greatest fear is a dramatic regional escalation, and the possibility that Syria will become a theatre of open conflict between Russia and states like the US, UK and France. The norm used to be a Middle East with Russia in it as a major power broker. One may argue that the decision to intervene in Syria was too risky, but in the current age of global public scrutiny, information overload and universal political procrastination, in the fast-changing and perplexing environment of the Middle East the Kremlin made a bold choice for action. Syria’s fate was up to Syrians, he said, and the Russian government was prepared to live with the outcome of the U.N.-supervised elections. Russia has had a naval facility in Tartus since Soviet times, and although it is has been more of a repair yard and warship supply station, The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which deposed long-time dictator Saddam Hussein, and the 2011 toppling of Moammar Gadhafi's Libyan regime -- helped by an, More recently, Western support for the overthrow of Ukraine's pro-Russia leader Viktor Yanukovych prompted Russia to annex the Crimean peninsula and provide support for pro-Russia rebels in battles in Eastern Ukraine, fighting that mushroomed into the. According to the Moscow Times these were already worth around 20 billion USD in 2011, and it is a number certain to rise in the future. Russia's friendly relationship with Syria dates back to the Cold War. What does Russia really want? Further, we must look at the current state of Russia’s relationships in the Middle East. During the last month, Russia held channels of communication wide open with Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Iraqi officials also demonstrated a strong interest to cooperate with Russia in fighting with ISIS. The ministry of defense, the foreign ministry and the Kremlin are communicating with their counterparts and the international media, more than anybody familiar with Russian officials could expect. Today these skeptics have been presented with an answer. Following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on September 17 in Sochi, the two countries agreed to create a demilitarised zone 15-20km into … Obama’s administration abandoned Mubarak, a long-time American ally, yet the Kremlin, in even more complicated circumstances, is helping Assad. The Arab world was one of few arenas where Soviet successfully built long-term partnerships during the Cold War, and the Russian brand remains surprisingly popular in the region. What does Russia seek in Syria? Since Russia came to President Bashar al-Assad's aid at his request, the Syrian battlefield has transformed rapidly. Airstrikes from a foreign base, cruise missiles, different types of space and electronic reconnaissance, no land force units involved, drones, close coordination between navy and air force, cooperation with foreign military: these are all signs of an operation typical to modern warfare. Again, from this perspective, it seems to be a very serious move. View news feed from Ukrainian Independent Information Agency UNIAN - world news for 07 October. We also see that the Russian Ministry of Defense opened an information center to provide official information, including videos of strikes, in a timely manner. Russia saw in Syria an opportunity to act decisively, and took it. Similar reasons might be behind the current consistent consultations with Middle Eastern powers, and invitations by the Russian defense ministry to military attachés in Moscow and Western brass, especially American, to create communication channels to avoid accidents. 1. © Copyright 2021 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. What does Russia really want? Head of the Baltics section of the Moscow Institute, CIS, funded by the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, Aleksandrov suggested that in the event of a U.S. attack on Syria, Russia should invade the Baltic states, claiming that "half of the population of Latvia and Estonia will meet the Russian troops with flowers as it was in 1940." Here we can again compare the Russian and American positions: for example, it is rather hard for Washington to deal with many issues in the region without talking to Tehran—yet the latter is difficult in terms of domestic U.S. politics. By winning the war in Syria, Russia seeks to make the old normal the new one. Reporters, politicians, experts and pundits have argued whether Russia is trying to rescue Assad or whether it is fighting ISIS and other terror groups in the area. What Russia wants and what it will get in Syria. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Remember, Putin is the aggressive leader recently isolated by the West. Russia wants to fight the conflict in Syria on its own terms, which are at odds with those of the US. Russian leaders support a peace deal with broad consensus among Syria's moderate factions that would allow Assad to remain in power. At the same time, the Russian government has presented the operation in Syria as an opportunity to test and promote Russian weaponry (something other large arms exporters, like … Russia’s airstrikes against Syrian rebels last week came as a surprise to many Americans — including, it seems, many in the Obama administration. Russia fears an ISIS victory in Syria would have reverberations at home, as some of the top military commanders of ISIS are Russian speakers of Chechen origin. Both theories are simplistic. Syria gives Moscow an opportunity for affirming great power status by exerting influence beyond Russia’s near abroad. Kremlin concerns about the spread of Islamist violence are genuine. The decision to intervene in Syria allows us to make several conclusions about Russian foreign policy beyond the Middle East. Moscow’s courage includes its military capabilities and its readiness to use them. It is hard not to notice that despite various amounts of criticism and concerns from regional capitals regarding Russia’s operation, Moscow is talking to almost all of them. Russia and the US have returned to diplomatic stalemate on Syria, proving that even when agreement in principle has been reached, such agreement is far from any guarantee of implementation. The opposition, though very dependent on Turkish protection, holds much of the north-west, and it also – for now – controls territor… Russia is not building an empire, it seeks to stop one that threatens its existence from reaching its borders with proxies that include Neo-Nazis, terrorists, and NATO forces themselves. It is far from the truth. Updated 1649 GMT (0049 HKT) February 8, 2016. Many observers have argued that the Russian military operation in Syria is a bold challenge to the United States in the region. Of course, there are enough critics speculating that not all Russian cruise missiles reached their targets. After the collapse of the Soviet Union many domestic and international skeptics doubted that the level of Russia’s military is adequate to its claims to play a bigger role in the world affairs. It is now entirely dependent on them. Yes, Russia does sell lot of arms -- $15 billion worth in 2012 . 40,000 fleeing Aleppo as battle for Syrian city intensifies: U.N. strategic center of Russia's military operation, Russia is still a force to be reckoned with, bloodiest Europe has seen since the wars over the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Now, a defining battle is looming for Aleppo. The economic cooperation between Syria and Russia stretches back decades and several Russian corporations have contracts in Syria from before the conflict. In 2000, Vladimir Putin became president of Russia and Bashar al-Assad became president of Syria. They shouldn’t have. Russian leaders seem to fear … Despite its extremely militaristic rhetoric, Russia too wanted to avoid a large-scale offensive and most importantly, a potential military confrontation with Turkey. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his aides have been bolstering their support of Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, for months — visibly, with troops and aircraft, and volubly as well.