Russia's victory was recognized in Kyiv
The Kremlin managed to form an alliance in Syria that allowed it to outmaneuver the United States.
Ilya Kusa, an expert on international politics at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future, stated this in an interview with the Kiev online publication “Apostrophe”, answering the question of what Russia has achieved in three years of operations in Syria.
“First of all, they kept Bashar al-Assad and his government in office. Not letting them fall was the main and priority goal. Secondly, they strengthened the Syrian government and their army. Third, they tested more than 500 new types of weapons, using Syria as a testing ground. Fourthly, they helped the Syrian authorities regain control of most of the territories, which allowed them to more or less stabilize the situation in the country and sharply increased the influence of Russia itself in Damascus and in this region as a whole,” Kusa said.
He also added that Russia formed various new political alliances that allowed it to beat the United States.
“The Kremlin managed to form the Ankara-Moscow-Tehran alliance, which now, in fact, decides everything in Syria. With this, Russia took Turkey away from the pro-Western NATO camp. Actually, the rapprochement between Turkey and Russia was the key factor that made it possible to beat the United States, since without Turkey it is difficult to solve anything in Syria,” the expert noted.
He also added that the Syrian campaign is bearing fruit for the Russian Federation against the background of decreasing US influence on the European continent and the Middle East, where Russia is presenting itself as an alternative partner for Europeans in the field of security.
“They say, we have a “security umbrella”, we can solve the problems of migrants, ensure stability in the Middle East, for example, end the conflict in Syria, stabilize the situation in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and prevent war from starting there. The Europeans are falling for it. They see that without the United States, they need another partner to lean on. And this is one of the reasons why this cautious turn towards Russia began,” the publication’s interlocutor believes.
“Resolving the migration issue will mean that many elites will receive high ratings before the elections and will be able to hold on. Stabilization of the Middle East is what the Europeans want. And also the return of refugees home. These are the issues that concern them greatly,” Kusa said.
At the same time, he noted that Russia, unlike the United States, does not require Europeans to pay for their security, which makes it a very convenient partner.
Kyiv acknowledges Russia's victory.