MOSCOW (AP) – With dozens of Russian combat jets and helicopter gunships lined up at an air base in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for a big-time show at the United Nations General Assembly.
Observers expect the Russian leader to call for stronger U.N.-sanctioned global action against the Islamic State group and possibly announce some military moves in his speech on Monday.
Putin appears to see the rise of the IS as both a major potential threat to Russia and a common cause that could help restore ties with the West, ravaged by the Ukrainian crisis. By claiming a new role in Syria, he may hope to lift Russia from the Ukrainian morass and rebuild its image as a top-tier global player capable of tackling IS, which he has called an “absolute evil.”
Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, believes that Putin’s moves in Syria are intended to “take the dialogue with the West out of the Ukrainian impasse.”
“Syria and the Middle East in general are the problems that attract global attention, and we raise our status by returning there as active players,” said Lukyanov, who has strong official connections as the head of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, an association of Russia’s top foreign policy experts.