What is Russia doing in Syria?
8 October 2015 | In the Media
The Syrian conflict, initially between the people and the Al Assad regime, has been concentrating all regional and international tensions for almost five years. Russia’s recent involvement suggests a new recreation of the Cold War between that country and the United States, Lurdes Vidal, head of the Arab and Mediterranean World department at the IEMed, told El Matí on Radio 4. “Geopolitics has ended up devouring the popular uprising”, and the Syrian people are the ones who suffer today from both the action and the inaction of external actors.
Russian action has clear political goals. Despite justifying it as a fight against Islamic State, Moscow does not hide its intentions to strengthen Al Assad’s position and gain influence not only over the regime but over the entire region. Russian action, Vidal said, could lead to an escalation of the conflict, in which external actors act freely by arming their loyal factions, creating greater polarization that the Islamic State can use to gain more ground. “Arms are accumulating in Syria, but so far nothing has been able to end the balance of power.” For all this, Vidal stressed the need to bet more on the political and diplomatic route than the military. An option but now it seems more and more distant.
Referring to Syrian refugees, the IEMed analyst has criticized Europe for haggling over its responsibility to take in refugees. She warned that the continent could soon find more refugees from conflict zones in the Horn of Africa and Yemen.