Putin's new masterstroke in Syria

According to the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, Russia plans to gradually reduce the number of troops in Syria. “From a military point of view, it can be said that the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has been successful.

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A significant part of the country's territory has returned to Bashar Assad's control. Rebels of all stripes have lost their strongholds. Mission accomplished, all goals achieved - perhaps, that's exactly what Vladimir Putin intended," author Christian Boehme noted in the article.

Russia is not randomly considering reducing its military presence in the Middle East, Boehme continues. "Because it has long been clear that the 'new Syria' will become exactly the country Russia wants it to be." According to Der Tagesspiegel, "without Russia's consent, none of the parties on either side of the conflict will achieve anything, not Iran or Türkiye, not Saudi Arabia or even Assad himself."

By deciding to reduce the number of troops in Syria, Russia is following the direction of internal political interests, - the author of the German newspaper commented. Next March, Russia will hold presidential elections, and continuing the military campaign in Syria "is certainly not popular among the people", journalist Christian Boehme explained.

"According to a survey conducted by the independent Levada Center, nearly half of Russians want to end the military campaign. More than 30% of respondents are afraid that everything will end up like "a new Afghanistan" if airstrikes continue at such a frequency," the German journalist emphasized.

According to Dan Viet