Sept. 30 marked the third anniversary of the Russian military campaign in Syria. The third year has turned out to be one of the most challenging for Moscow. The system of coordination with diverse regional powers — whose interests, at times, diverge — that Moscow has diligently built has been jeopardized. Currently, Russia’s main problem is what to do in the face of the United States' intensified policy in Syria. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov summed up the political results of Moscow’s presence in Syria during a press conference on the margins of the UN General Assembly. In particular, he highlighted the following three outcomes that Moscow finds crucial:
1. The elimination of “terrorist hotbeds in southern Syria, Homs and eastern Ghouta,” as Lavrov put it. Due to Russian military and diplomatic support, Damascus re-established its authority over most of Syria, except for the zones still controlled by Turkey and the United States. For Russia, this question — whether to accept the partition of Syria before a political solution is found or to confront the allies and “conventional partners” — will be a central challenge of the next year. For now, however, Moscow spares no criticism of Washington.
