With pro-Syrian forces having made critical gains on the ground, the new alignment and the absence of any Western powers at the table all but guarantee that President Bashar al-Assad will continue to rule Syria under any resulting agreement, despite President Obama’s declaration more than five years ago that Mr. Assad had lost legitimacy and had to be removed.
Analysts say that Moscow sees in the transition an opportunity to end the conflict on favorable terms both for Mr. Assad and for Russia’s broader interests in the region. ‚Russia understands that nobody gives you anything, you just have to take it, and in this environment, with the U.S. retreating faster than the other side can advance, it’s just a free for all,‘ said Andrew J. Tabler, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who studies Syria. ‚When the Turks, the Iranians and the Russians all agree on a process without the U.S. being in the room, you realize there is a problem for us.‘“ (Ben Hubbar/Davie E. Sanger: „Russia, Iran and Turkey Meet for Syria Talks, Excluding U.S.“)
