Is Chechnya Putin’s blueprint for Syria?
BY ANNA BORSHCHEVSKAYA, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 01/17/19 06:30 PM EST President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria makes Russian President Vladimir Putin the unchallenged power broker in Syria. Sure, Iran, Hezbollah and Turkey also have influence, but the Kremlin’s red lines matter.
The Kremlin could barely contain its glee at Trump’s move. Putin praised the decision as “correct,†and Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the U.S. pullout creates good prospects for a “political solution†in Syria.
As Bashar Assad re-consolidates military control over the country with Russian and Iranian military support, international attention has turned to a “political solution†in Syria. With the United States largely vacating its remaining influence, what will Russia’s strategy be?
It pays to consider the Chechnya precedent. It was the Second Chechen War (1999-2009) that launched Putin’s political career, when in September 1999 a series of apartment bombings in several major cities shook Russia. Putin, then prime minister, immediately blamed Chechnya and declared, war which brought him from obscurity into the presidency.
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https://thehill.com/opinion/international/425863-is-chechnya-putins-blueprint-for-syria
