Putin Seizes on Syria to Cement Russia Middle East Sway

Vladimir Putin is seizing the chance to keep Russia’s foothold in the Middle East.

President Barack Obama yesterday postponed a decision on military action in Syria after Putin proposed to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control, shifting the global debate. It allows Putin to keep a role in molding the fate of an ally of more than 40 years that hosts Russia’s only military base outside the former Soviet Union and raise his country’s international status.