CNN: Assad's Fall In Syria Highlights Putin's Fragility

The Kremlin master will not become an influential player in the Middle East.

The events in Syria mean much more for Russian ruler Putin than just the loss of an ally state. The situation was especially aggravated by the fact that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, CNN reports.

It is noted that the fall of the Assad dynasty could deal a serious blow to Putin's aspirations to become an influential player in the Middle East. The Russian dictator's own regime could also be under threat.

— Putin threw Assad under the bus to prolong his war in Ukraine. His resources are meager, and he is not as strong as he pretends, — the publication quoted former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying.

In addition, Assad's escape from the country is suspiciously similar to how former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine in 2014, the publication noted. Syrians are now wandering around the abandoned presidential palace in Damascus, just like the Ukrainians in Mezhyhirya.

The publication recalled that Yanukovych did not return to Ukraine after his escape. Most likely, this awaits Assad, who will no longer be able to return back.

The author of the article, journalist Nathan Hodge, believes that the fall of the Assad regime in Syria could be a turning point for Ukraine. While Assad fled the country to Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with French leader Emmanuel Macron and White House chief Donald Trump in Paris.

Hodge is confident that Assad's escape could potentially weaken Putin's position in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Especially if Kyiv's partners stop taking his nuclear threats seriously.

The publication emphasized that Trump also drew attention to the fall of the regime in Syria. He wrote on social media that Putin is unable to prevent a change of government in Syria, although he promised to protect the Assad regime.

Videos are being published online of rebels tearing down Assad monuments in Tartus, on the Mediterranean coast of Syria, where Russia has maintained a naval base since the Cold War. The publication added that Russia also uses its airbase in Khmeimim. In 2017, during a visit there, Putin said that Assad's opponents would receive “unprecedented blows that they have not seen before if they raise their heads again.”

According to Hodge, Putin's promises to support Assad with all possible efforts now seem empty. Nevertheless, he does not rule out that such a defeat could lead to the Russian dictator acting more decisively in Ukraine in order to appear a stronger figure in the political arena.

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