Publication

This backgrounder provides several reasons why Russia has deployed troops to Syria. It surmises that Moscow is seeking ways to 1) prop up the Assad regime; 2) thwart the US and Turkey from establishing a possible 'ISIS-free' buffer zone; and 3) embarrass the US by positioning Russia as the leader of a new international anti-ISIS coalition. The backgrounder's authors also argue that the deployment will 1) alter the nature of international negotiations over Syria; 2) compromise and weaken the cohesion of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition; 3) strengthen the Assad regime; and 4) initiate direct Russo-Iranian military operations. In light of these developments, the authors finally urge the US and its partners to reassess their approach to the Syrian conflict in fundamental ways.