Another viewpoint of why Russia is in Syria,
Vladimir Putin bids for major world role as his forces move into Syria
Last week satellite images revealed Russia’s military expansion in Syria, with deployments of troops, tanks and warplanes. Now western governments are scrambling to respond to the shift in power in the Middle East

'Putin and Kremlin had a clear goal to overcome international isolation because of Ukraine' – military analyst Alexander Golts. Photograph: ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis/Alexei Nikolsky
Emma Graham-Harrison and
Alec Luhn
Saturday 26 September 2015 19.02 EDTLast modified on Saturday 26 September 201519.04 EDT
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s dramatic deployment of soldiers, weapons and aircraft to
Syria is aimed at reshaping not just a civil war on the edge of the Mediterranean but Russia’s standing in the international community.
Moscow has been isolated for years by sanctions slapped on the country as punishment for its annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Doubling down on his support for the beleaguered Syrian regime, Putin sent a clear signal that there would be no solution to the bloody quagmire without Moscow.
“Putin and Kremlin had a clear goal to overcome international isolation because of Ukraine,” says Alexander Golts, military analyst and deputy editor of a news site that was censored hours after Crimea was annexed. “The idea of an anti-Isis coalition looked like some kind of excellent bridge to overcome isolation, and it appears to have worked.”
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Vladimir Putin bids for major world role as his forces move into Syria?