'A grotesquely cynical charade': It looks like Russia is 'dangling' a new offer to entice Trump against attacking Assad

pulse

April 6, 2017 11:22 PM

Experts are skeptical that Putin is prepared to relinquish his support for an ally he has defended throughout more than six years of brutal civil war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian president Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Thursday that while Russia and Syria "enjoy a relationship of cooperation," Russia does not support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "unconditionally."

Peskov added

Peskov's comments came as President Donald Trump indicated he was prepared to retaliate against Assad for allegedly launching the worst chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians since 2013.

But experts are skeptical that Putin is really prepared to relinquish his support for an ally he has consistently defended throughout more than six years of brutal civil war. In late September 2015, Moscow went as far as to intervene in the conflict on Assad's behalf, waging a scorched-earth campaign on rebel-held enclaves — and ultimately winning back Syria's largest city, Aleppo — that remains ongoing.

Some observers viewed Peskov's statement Thursday as a signal that Russia is willing to use its leverage in Syria not to remove Assad, but to negotiate some kind of deal with the US that would, at least temporarily, deter American military action.

The posture struck some as eerily reminiscent of Russia's last-minute offer to dispose of Assad's chemical weapons stockpile in 2013 as the Obama administration threatened a military response to a gas attack that left more than 1,000 civilians dead.

Ian Bremmer, president of the political risk firm Eurasia Group, agreed that it was "very unlikely" that Russia was ready to throw Assad under the bus.

"But [Peskov's] statement does put some pressure on Assad to both rein him in on his military activities" and push for "eventual diplomatic outcomes," Bremmer said. "Russia is one of two key external players here — Iran being the other — and it needs to assert itself with Assad, not just with the international community."

Three defense officials told Yousseff that Assad may have used the chemical weapons to "test" how the US would respond — especially since, last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, suggested removing Assad from power was no longer a priority.

Faced once again with the threat of military action against one of his closest partners, Putin appears to be staging a test of his own. But, because Putin has never been known to bend to the US's will, it is unclear what will happen if Trump fails it.

Trump reiterated Thursday that "what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity," though his calls to action were a bit more subdued: Assad's "there

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