![RTS2JZ07.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/10/RTS2JZ07.jpg/RTS2JZ07.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=mwHG8tHD)
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} Paul J. Saunders is a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Russia Mideast Pulse. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the National Interest and a research scientist at the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA). He was a State Department Senior Advisor during the George W. Bush administration. On Twitter: @1796farewell
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Paul J. Saunders
![Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh, hold swords on a visit to King Abdul Aziz Historical Centre in Riyadh February 12, 2007. REUTERS/Itar-Tass/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE (SAUDI ARABIA) - GM1DUPEGXLAA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/09/RTR1MBSY.jpg/RTR1MBSY.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=nNcFuz__)
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Paul J. Saunders
![Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (2nd L) is greeted by the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit (L) before their meeting in Cairo, Egypt May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTX382BY](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/07/RTX382BY.jpg/RTX382BY.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=7Ek1nRrl)
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Paul J. Saunders
![U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) conducts strike operations while in the Mediterranean Sea which U.S. Defense Department said was a part of cruise missile strike against Syria on April 7, 2017. Ford Williams/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX34HHA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/06/RTX34HHA.jpg/RTX34HHA.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=XUiml-aR)
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Paul J. Saunders
![(Front R-L) Jordan's King Abdullah II, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose for a photo during Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX36UAJ](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/05/RTX36UAJ.jpg/RTX36UAJ.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=L_l9rprE)
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Paul J. Saunders
![U.S. President Barack Obama extends his hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1SYBB](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/10/RTX1SYBB.jpg/RTX1SYBB.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=6R4-Yrxs)
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Paul J. Saunders
![Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference following their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSM4JY](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/08/RTSM4JY.jpg/RTSM4JY.jpg?h=077ac243&itok=Gfj6OK12)
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Paul J. Saunders
![Russia's President Vladimir Putin is pictured during a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan (not pictured) in Ankara December 1, 2014. Putin said on Monday that Moscow could not carry on with the South Stream project if the European Union was opposed to it. Speaking at a joint news conference with Turkish President Erdogan, Putin said the European Commission was reluctant to give the green light to the South Stream project. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (TURKEY](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/07/RTR4GAY7.jpg/RTR4GAY7.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=LN7s9KwW)
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Paul J. Saunders
![Young Arab and Kurdish soldiers, coming from the newly-declared federal region -unifying territory run by Kurds across several Syrian provinces- take part in a training session as part of a compulsory military service on March 24, 2016 in Rmeilan, a border town in Syria's northeast Hasakeh province.
Syria's Kurds on March 17, 2016 declared a federal region in areas under their control in the north of the conflict-riven country, a move rejected by both the government and opposition. The new "federal system"](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/04/GettyImages-517396486.jpg/GettyImages-517396486.jpg?h=5021389d&itok=PYwZckq8)
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Paul J. Saunders
![Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoy attends a briefing in Moscow, Russia, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSB317](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/03/RTSB317.jpg/RTSB317.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=NSkmrGUC)
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Paul J. Saunders
![Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoy (R) and spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry Major General Igor Konashenkov attend a briefing in Moscow, Russia, January 15, 2016. Russia's defence ministry said on Friday a new objective of Russian forces in Syria was to provide humanitarian aid. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTX22IOM](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/02/RTX22IOM.jpg/RTX22IOM.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=CQFf0zha)
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Paul J. Saunders