Confident Assad Sabotages Putin’s Outreach to Trump in Syria
- Kremlin refusing to back attack on rebel bastion, advisers say
- Russian efforts to cement truce at risk from crisis with U.S.
The Arguments for and Against Removing Syria's Assad
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Russia’s military campaign to save Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from being overthrown by rebels may have worked too well. The Kremlin’s discovering that it’s losing influence over its protege as he grows increasingly confident about his survival.
In an effort to recover leverage, Russia is refusing to provide air support to enable Assad to begin an assault on the last rebel bastion of Idlib, according to Russian lawmakers and Kremlin advisers.