Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Nicole Grajewski, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Hanna Notte, director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center, to unpack the sudden fall of Assad’s regime and what it means for Russia to lose its stronghold in the Middle East.
Russia has no plans to leave Syria, but is increasingly unwilling to intervene in the country’s domestic affairs, whether militarily or financially.
Russia is back and here to stay. Others had better accept it and learn to deal with it — without undue expectations, but also without inordinate fear.
America’s withdrawal creates an opportunity and a challenge for Moscow.
While the proxy war in Syria does hold the potential for a clash between U.S. and Russian forces, it is only one of several theaters in which a larger conflict between the two countries is playing out.
Policymakers need to learn from their military subordinates: They should keep their heads cool and think of the consequences of their actions, both intended and unintended.
Carnegie Moscow Center’s Director Dmitri Trenin and Rethinking Russia discussed his new book “What Is Russia Up To in the Middle East?”, Moscow’s role and place in the region, the future of Syria and the Islamic State as well as Russia’s Syria collaboration with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the U.S.
