The bombings in the Syrian cities of Tartus and Jableh that claimed the lives of more than 120 people on May 23 were a stark reminder that the situation in Syria is much farther from peace than statements of relative diplomatic successes may suggest. Russia is one party that should be especially worried, and it is.

The terrorist attacks spurred anxious reactions among Russian authorities. The Foreign Ministry called them an “attempt to disrupt efforts aimed at preserving the cease-fire and undermine the overall political settlement of the Syrian crisis.” At a press conference, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for President Vladimir Putin, said the attacks “demonstrate the fragility of the situation in the region.”

Such assessments draw attention to the two principal issues the Kremlin has stressed from the beginning: external support for jihadi militants in Syria and their designation as terrorist groups on the list recognized by the UN Security Council. For these reasons, Moscow echoed the sentiment of Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi that the attacks “wouldn’t have been possible without support of the states that are financing and arming terrorists.” Moscow also stressed that the attacks were a “blatant challenge not only to the government of Syria but to the entire international community, which is clear about its collective position in favor of an inter-Syrian national agreement.”

Indeed, both issues are central to Russia's foreign policy approach of constructing a delicate political process with prospects for a transition in mind. Along the way, however, not only are the ambitions of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad an impediment, but so are breaches of the brittle cease-fire by signatories as well as those who didn't sign on to the truce. Regarding the latter, news that Ahrar al-Sham had claimed responsibility for the attacks, never mind that it denied responsibility the next day, floated the boat of Russia's desire to include the organization, along with Jaish al-Islam, on the list of terrorist organizations in Syria. Moscow has consistently been adamant about this, but its appeals to Washington for agreement have fallen flat. “We didn’t insist on it too much at the beginning as it was part of our concession package,” said a retired Russian diplomat privy to discussions on the issue within Russia's decision-making circle. “But now it’s up to the Americans to move forward with it if they want the cease-fire to hold.”