How Russian Leader Became Key Figure in Global Politics... Again

After the 70th UN General Assembly meeting in New York, it has become clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin has managed to break through isolation attempts of Western leaders and come out as a key political leader once again, French newspaper Le Monde said.

Putin showed that he's no longer a pariah who had to leave earlier during the G-20 Summit in Australia in November 2014 following an icy reception from Western leaders. Le Monde decided to point out several major steps the Russian president had to take to get the international attention once again.

Putin's return to the first role in the international arena began back in May, when Moscow started its "Syrian campaign," trying to pursue the United States to sit down and talk about the situation in the Middle East, Le Monde said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry came to Sochi with a visit on May 12. Prior to Kerry's visit, no high-ranking US official had set foot on Russian soil for over two years. That was a major milestone for Putin, the French newspaper said.

Later in July, Putin launched intense diplomatic work on all fronts. Russia became a key negotiator during talks between Iran and the P5+1 group, during which the parties finally came to an agreement regarding Tehran's nuclear program.

Then, it was Putin's time to shine during the BRICS Summit in Russia's Ufa. During the BRICS meeting, Putin successfully promoted the idea of a "multipolar" world that could come in place of the US-led Western hegemony, according to Le Monde.

Then came Syria. As the US-led international coalition stumbled on their anti-ISIL airstrike campaign, while the waves of Syrian refugees kept knocking on Europe's door, Putin decided to act. The Russian leader managed to convince Europeans that it's a lot easier to defeat ISIL and stop the influx of Syrian refugees than one might think.

The answer is simple — to support the government of Bashar al-Assad, create a broader anti-terrorist coalition, which includes Russia, and start destroying ISIL together. According to Le Monde, it was a remarkably clever political move for Putin.