Russia

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite the Russian announcement of a determination to withdraw the bulk of its air force from Syria, Moscow has underlined that some planes would remain and would continue to fly missions against groups the Russian Federation considers terrorists,including al-Qaeda (Jabhat al-Nusra) and Daesh (ISIL, ISIS). Thus, […]

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Putin: Russia can ramp back up in Syria “within hours”

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat (Life) summarized Russian sources on Thursday’s speech by Russian president Vladimir Putin: Putin made several points: 1. Russia hopes that the ceasefire and Geneva peace negotiations can now go forward relatively smoothly toward a political settlement in Syria 2. Russia will continue […]

Russia

Putin’s Syria Gambit: Surprising Views of Russian Pundits on What Moscow Achieved

contributors

By Robert Coalson | ( RFE/RL ) | – – As Russian warplanes continued their partial withdrawal from Syria two days after President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly announced that Moscow's objectives in the country had been "generally accomplished," observers debated how the move changes the situation in the volatile region. Russian analysts are divided on what […]

Russia

Why is Putin Really withdrawing from Syria?

contributors

By Alexander Titov | (The Conversation) | – – Back in September 30 2015, when Vladimir Putin unexpectedly announced the deployment of the Russian air force in Syria, the consensus was that this would prove to be a costly mistake. Critics argued that airstrikes alone would not make any tangible difference to the facts on […]

Bashar al-Assad

Mystery: Russia & Hizbullah begin withdrawal from Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – al-Hayat [Life], the London pan-Arab daily, reports on the announcement Monday by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would begin withdrawing the greater part of Russian men and equipment from Syria. Al-Hayat is careful to note that Putin says that the Russian naval base at Tartus […]

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Syrian Ceasefire: A Signal that Russia is winning the War?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Whether or not the cessation of hostilities in Syria holds, it is a major turning point in the revolution and civil war that began in 2011. As of Saturday morning in Syria, the major fronts between the regime and the Muslim Brotherhood factions were quiet. There […]

Petroleum

The Saudi-Russian Oil Price Freeze is about Power, not Money

contributors

By Nafis Alam | (The Conversation) | – – Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s two most powerful oil producers, have reached a tentative agreement to freeze oil production at its current levels. As the first deal between an OPEC and non-OPEC member in 15 years, it marks a significant declaration of intent. But it […]

France

France: Turkish-Russian ‘War’ Possible over Syria

contributors

TeleSur | – – The French president said Russia and Turkey could engage in war over Turkish involvement in Syria as Russia called for an urgent U.N. Security Council. There is risk of a Turkish-Russian war as a result of Ankara’s involvement in Syria, French President Francois Hollande warned Friday, as Russia called for a […]

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Syria: 500 Turkey-backed Sunni Arab Fighters Cross to defend Azaz from Kurds

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – This morning, according to the Syria Observatory and the Arabic press some 500 Sunni Arab rebels based in Turkey crossed back into Syria to help defend the town of Azaz from the YPG miitia of Syrian Kurds, which is advancing on the city. They were allowed […]