Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov attend a meeting with top military officials at the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 22, 2016. (photo by Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Nikolskyi)
Uri Friedman, The Atlantic: What Is Putin Up To in Syria?
Russia and the U.S. are coming into conflict, even as they claim to be fighting the same enemy.
At home the American president is beset by questions about his ties with Russia. But in Syria, U.S.-Russian ties are unraveling. On Monday, after a U.S. fighter jet shot down a Syrian warplane for the first time in the civil war, the Russian Defense Ministry suspended a hotline for avoiding unintended conflict with the U.S. military in the crowded skies over Syria. And it didn’t stop there. The ministry announced that “all flying objects” belonging to the U.S.-led coalition in Syria “detected west of the Euphrates” river will now be “followed by Russian air-defense systems as targets.” In other words: You tread on our turf, and we just might tread on yours.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 20, 2017
The stakes in Syria now include US-Russia war -- Ralph Peters. New York Post
href="http://ift.tt/2sunLnS">US attack on Syrian jet puts Putin under pressure -- Maxim A. Suchkov, Al-Monitor
US struggles to calm new Syria flashpoints -- Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor
The Syria hotline for US and Russian militaries -- AFP
Why the death of ISIS’s leader could spell trouble -- Adnan R. Khan, Macleans
How to Deal With North Korea -- Mark Bowden, The Atlantic
There is no Thucydides Trap -- Arthur Waldron, Straits Times
Asia Is Trawling for a Deadly Fishing War -- Jenny Gustafsson, Foreign Affairs
Money stolen by Russian mob linked to man sanctioned for supporting Syria's chemical weapons program -- Michael Weiss, CNN
Is the Trump administration poised to take on a new role in the Ukraine conflict? -- Roman Goncharenko, DW
Trump’s Strange Retreat from Cuba -- Michael Brunwald, Politico
Tell Havana to end repression -- Frank Calzon, USA Today
Drugs and Violence on the United States’ Doorstep: No End in Sight -- Kaitlin Lavinder, Cipher Brief
Trump's Rollback on Cuba -- Michael J. Bustamante, Foreign Affairs
Why Colombia’s peace deal is taking so long to implement -- The Economist
Otto Warmbier: What happened to the US student in North Korea? -- ABC News Online
US struggles to calm new Syria flashpoints -- Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor
The Syria hotline for US and Russian militaries -- AFP
Why the death of ISIS’s leader could spell trouble -- Adnan R. Khan, Macleans
How to Deal With North Korea -- Mark Bowden, The Atlantic
There is no Thucydides Trap -- Arthur Waldron, Straits Times
Asia Is Trawling for a Deadly Fishing War -- Jenny Gustafsson, Foreign Affairs
Money stolen by Russian mob linked to man sanctioned for supporting Syria's chemical weapons program -- Michael Weiss, CNN
Is the Trump administration poised to take on a new role in the Ukraine conflict? -- Roman Goncharenko, DW
Trump’s Strange Retreat from Cuba -- Michael Brunwald, Politico
Tell Havana to end repression -- Frank Calzon, USA Today
Drugs and Violence on the United States’ Doorstep: No End in Sight -- Kaitlin Lavinder, Cipher Brief
Trump's Rollback on Cuba -- Michael J. Bustamante, Foreign Affairs
Why Colombia’s peace deal is taking so long to implement -- The Economist
Otto Warmbier: What happened to the US student in North Korea? -- ABC News Online
