Federico Scoppa/Demotix. All rights reserved.
Reports of a Russian military presence in Latakia, as well as lingering suspicion of both wider logistical and intelligence support to the Bashar Al Assad regime, add a new dimension to Vladimir Putin’s motives in the Syrian conflict. There have also been claims that Russian military technical personnel have taken over the running of key airports including Damascus international airport. The ongoing Syrian tragedy has demonstrated more than anything else that Putin is the consummate opportunist. While his endgame is still open to question, he has been masterful and ruthless in taking advantage of President Obama’s jelly-kneed foreign policy and European divisions to expand Russian influence in the world to levels reminiscent of the Cold War era.
According to reports, Moscow and Damascus have revived the terms of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1980 by the Soviet Union and Syria; these terms have allowed Russian forces to establish airbases in the predominately Alawite western coastal portion of the country. There has been no official confirmation of this agreement, and while Washington has expressed concern about growing Russian military involvement in Syria it is not yet clear if the Cold War treaty or any elements of it have indeed been reactivated.
