The world is tired of the never-ending Syrian deadlock, so any news promising change becomes a sensation. Late last week, its author was a special representative of Russia in the Middle East, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

At the round table in the Public Chamber, an advisory body created a few years ago for the representation of civil-society organizations, he stated, “We need to face the facts: the current situation is that the government regime is giving up more and more control over larger territories in the country.” The diplomat admitted that there was a possibility that the Syrian opposition might win; however, he added that most likely, the war would drag on for a long time and take many more lives.

The statement caused a storm of reaction, interpreted in the West and the Arab world as a shift in the Russian position, distancing Russia from Bashar al-Assad. Some critics were happy that finally, Moscow had stopped daydreaming and faced reality, while others speculated how Russia was going to help the rest of the world to overthrow the regime. The power of the reaction has caused a commotion in the Russian Foreign Ministry. First, the ministry attempted to stop the spread of this information, and the next day a spokesman said that Bogdanov "did not make any statements, nor did he give a special interview on the Syrian issue," saying instead that he simply "cited the already known statements made by the representatives of the Syrian opposition and their foreign sponsors, in which they made references to the 'quick victory over the regime in Damascus.'" This, consequently, led to speculations on the "split in Moscow" over the situation in Syria.

The Russian policy toward Syria is beyond international comprehension as observers try to ascertain motivations connected to Syria and the Middle East.