The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

Russia is following a clear strategy in Syria Monday March 21 st , 2016  at  9:35 AM Few in Moscow believe that the Assad regime will last long without changes, writes Fyodor Lukyanov V ladimir Putin’s decision to pull  Russian troops out of Syria  hit the headlines around the world. But it should have been expected.  Official statements  said from the beginning that the operation would last only a limited time, that there would be no permanent extensive military presence, that the purpose was not to support Bashar al-Assad’s regime but to save the country’s statehood and that the future would have to be determined by the Syrian people through political talks. What they said then is actually happening. So why now? The question of an exit strategy has been raised throughout the operation, and Mr Putin felt the time was right. Looking back, one can see why. The Syrian regime had had to be fortified because, Russia believed, the spread of radical Islam could be stopped