Russia ‘has never sought peace in the Middle East’ – analyst

“Russia has never sought for peace in the Middle East since the Cold War. Instability and conflicts in the Middle East has been the main Russia‘s objective,” said Laurinavičius.

“From the very beginning Russia had a few objectives in Syria. The first geopolitical goal – to strengthen its position in the Middle East. Now negotiations are conducted according to the Russian scenario, and this is most important,” said the political scientist.

He said Russia had chosen a very strategically convenient time to start the retreat from Syria and the political scientist emphasised that there would be no complete withdrawal.

“Another objective was to demonstrate Russia’s military power. Keep in mind that Russia is the second largest arms exporter in the world after the US. So they organized a kind of show for their weapons and the campaign will pay for itself very quickly,” Laurinavičius said.

“One more thing – the refugee crisis. Russia has increased the crisis with its military presence, specifically by bombing of civilians. Russia is now invited to the negotiating table even with these questions,” said Mr. Laurinavičius.

LRT