Russia's role in the fight against IS
Russia's complicated role in Syria means that it supports defeating the Islamic State, but not by tipping the balance against the regime.
As the United States and its various partners in the Middle East continue airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS), and combine attacks on IS targets inside Syria with intensified efforts to assist the more moderate forces attempting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, Washington should not forget Russia’s complex role in the fighting.
In one way, Moscow may well have been the first member (beyond the Assad regime) of the de facto coalition against the groups that coalesced to become IS. After all, Russia’s policy since the beginning of the Syrian civil war has been to support Assad to prevent the chaos that can help extremists gain power. This has led Russia to supply arms, and reportedly to share intelligence, with the Syrian government. When IS dramatically gained ground in Iraq, Russia quickly provided ground attack fighter jets and other weapons to Baghdad.
