Regional adversaries and allies see Russia as a key interlocutor that can talk to all sides. Simply put, Russia is a reality they have to deal with, whether they like it or not. Meanwhile, Putin seeks Western accommodation and recognition as a Great Power with a “privileged” sphere of influence. This means crafting a long-term strategy toward Russia, a historically “weak Great Power” that has focused on geopolitics over all else, even at the time when the U.S. pivoted to counter-terrorism after Sept. 11, 2001. Anna Borshchevskaya is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and author of upcoming book, “Putin's War in Syria: Russian Foreign Policy and the Price of America's Absence.”

Source: New York Times October 29, 2021 16:32 UTC