During the latest meeting of the top leadership of the Russian Federation, chaired by Vladimir Putin and his defense minister, Russian officials discussed the war in Ukraine, NATO, and mortgages for the military, but none of them mentioned Syria, where Russia has maintained a military presence for years. This was reported by The New York Times, according to UNN.
The silence underscores the uncertainty over the future of Russian military bases in Syria - and the fact that the war in Ukraine has become the Kremlin's top priority,
It is pointed out that the fall of the Assad regime is a painful topic for Moscow. And the overthrow of the Syrian dictator could be an even bigger failure of Putin's “revival of Russia.
“Right now, Putin's priority is obviously the war against Ukraine. And in this war, he believes he is winning, both on the battlefield and in the confrontation with the West, as politicians skeptical of supporting Ukraine, led by President-elect Donald Trump, are increasingly coming to power,” the article says.
“On Monday, the Kremlin leader said that his troops “hold the strategic initiative” along the entire front line in Ukraine and that the flow of Russians volunteering to fight “does not stop.” This means that Putin believes he can “outlast” Ukraine on the battlefield, even as Trump promises to negotiate a peace deal to end the war,” the newspaper adds.
In addition, Putin's Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that “ensuring victory” in the war against Ukraine is a top priority, but said nothing about Russia's plans or goals in the Middle East.
Recall
On December 8, Syrian rebels, who have made significant progress in their offensive, announced the capture of the capital Damascus and announced the fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad. Assad himself fled to Russia.