Pulling Out, Russia 'Switched Attention' and Gained Geopolitical Win

Commenting on the possible reasons and consequences of Russia’s pullout from Syria, Hua Liming, a Middle East expert at the Chinese Institute of International Studies has suggested that Russia has diverted the attention of western countries and gained an advantage in its negotiations on Ukraine, thereby scoring an important geopolitical win.

Russia has played the important stabilizing role in the settlement of the Syrian question, Hua Liming, who was Chinese ambassador to a number of countries, including Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Netherlands, told Xinhua news agency.

Now its pullout from Syria has switched the attention of the West and brought Moscow an advantage over the western countries in its negotiations on Ukraine.

This represents a clear geopolitical gain on the international stage.

The withdrawal, he added, should not be regarded as any form of retreat but rather a reformation of Russia’s political agenda as it has preserved its bases in Syria and might return there at any time.

According to some other political analysts, the agency says, the partial pullout of the Russian military demonstrates sincere intentions of Russia and Syria to cooperate in the peace settlement of the Syrian crisis.

Many also suggest that Russia intends to normalize its relations with the western countries and the US in particular and hope that the withdrawal will lead to progress in the mutual cooperation.