14 March 2016
Key Points
- The announced withdrawal highlights divergences between Iran, Syria, and Russia, and probably reflects Russia's intention to impose a compromise that might include federation or partition.
- Russia is likely to retain sufficient military presence to protect its core security interests, including its bases and core Syrian government areas in Damascus, Homs, and Latakia.
- The competing interests of a large number of potential 'spoilers' means that an agreement reached by the US and Russia, over the heads of regional and Syrian actors, risks breaking down rapidly.
Return of the bear: Russian Ground Forces modernisation
Russia's military is once again a major source of concern to its
neighbours, yet its army is regularly labelled a 'paper tiger' equipped
with ancient equipment and overseen by dysfunctional command structures.
Nick de Larrinaga reports on the true strength of the Russian Ground
Forces.
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