Russia withdraws troops from Syria

Before the planned visit to Egypt, Russian President Putin made a surprise visit to Syria, where he announced the withdrawal of most of the Moscow military personnel present in the Syrian country. For Russia, the Syrian operation, in support of Assad, is virtually concluded by keeping the government of Damascus in power and with the defeat of those who have been called the most powerful international military terrorist groups. If Moscow withdraws most of its troops it means that it believes that the danger of a deposition of Assad has been averted and that the militias of the caliphate, but also those of Al Qaeda, ie the expression of Sunni terrorism, have been defeated, so as it seems now to be certain even in Iraq, after the local government gave the formal announcement of the defeat of the Islamic State. As for the Damascus regime, the sovereignty that it now exercises is not identical to the one before the civil war, but the most important parts of the country remain under the control of Assad, while there are still some territories of lesser value. , in the hands of the democratic opposition, that is the one supported by Washington and the Kurdish side on the border with Turkey, which remains under the control of the Kurdish forces. If, therefore, Assad has maintained the leadership of Syria, his administration now appears under the direct control of the Russians and more discreetly than the Iranians, who continue to maintain a reserved attitude in public. The decision of Moscow could represent the meaning of the possible start of a negotiation phase for the future of the Syrian country, where the massive presence of a foreign armed force, deployed so clearly, could be too cumbersome, both for Damascus and for the same as Russia; on the other hand, the Kremlin has highlighted that in the Syrian country there will still be a reduced quota and the withdrawal does not mean a disengagement against terrorism, given that Moscow is ready to intervene again in force, should the situation again present terrorist forces in Syria. But among the reasons for the withdrawal, arrived almost unexpectedly, there could also be motivations related to the clash, of political matrix, which is emerging in the controversy entirely within the Islamic religion and the recent developments in the Middle Eastern region, following the American decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem and then recognize the city as Israeli capital. Against the background of this clash two opposing blocs formed, on the one hand, formed by the USA, Israel and Saudi Arabia and, on the other, by Russia, Iran and Turkey. Moscow, with the withdrawal of its troops from Syria, could aim to have a more relevant position, from the diplomatic point of view, in comparison, without being able to be attacked for a massive military presence in the region. Putin has repeatedly tried to hit the right moves and at this moment the Kremlin evaluates in a more positive sense, an approach to the softer issue. Russia, which is at the side of Iran, wants to take a more moderate position, to balance Tehran's harshness against the US, Israel and the historical enemy represented by Saudi Arabia. After the time of the intervention, now Putin considers it more profitable to take a diplomatic path, which can not be influenced in a negative way by a continuous manifestation of strength. The blockade that is against the transfer of the US embassy, ​​can count on the contrary position of Europe, a convergence from which Moscow can take advantage of the dualism that sees it engaged with the USA. The position of the most influential European countries, already long since deployed against the Israeli expansionism in the colonies, has been strengthened against the American maneuver, done in homage and with the support of the Israeli country. This stressful state of the Israeli Palestinian issue could lead to the opening of new negotiations, in which the US would lose its specific weight for the possible disregard of the Palestinian leadership, precisely following the decision to take the American embassy to Jerusalem. In this case, Putin could be accredited, perhaps with Europe or only with some European states, as the new guarantor of the negotiations.