How the wars in Ukraine and Lebanon changed the fate of Syria: CNN examined the situation in the Middle East

How the wars in Ukraine and Lebanon changed the fate of Syria: CNN examined the situation in the Middle East Margarita Voloshina

The fate of the dictatorial regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was decided not within the country, but on the territory of southern Beirut in Lebanon and the Donetsk region in Ukraine. He lost his power without the support of Russia and Iran when the unrest began.

This is reported by 24 Channel with reference to CNN. The publication notes that the Middle East is “shaky” since the ability of Iran and Russia as allies is being destroyed.

How the wars in Ukraine and Lebanon have changed the situation in Syria

According to CNN, Israel did not pay attention to Assad's fate during the war against Hezbollah. At the same time, Russia, which has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine for almost three years, most likely did not care how many planes or troops it would have left to preserve its own interests in the Middle East.

The publication, citing Donald Trump, notes that the war of attrition in Ukraine has made Russia “incapable” of helping Assad. Journalists point out that Lavrov's inability to explain the situation in Syria the other day indicates that Moscow “sees its saucers smashing on the floor.”

At the same time, Iran, a loyal ally of the aforementioned regimes, has faced serious difficulties over the past six months due to the war with Israel. It is noted that Tehran only promised to provide support, but this did not bring any significant results for the Bashar al-Assad regime.

The Middle East is reeling as ideas taken for granted, such as Iran's ubiquitous strength and Russia's credibility as an ally, are crumbling when confronted with new realities, the article says.

CNN notes that Russia and Iran's problems and their focus elsewhere have led to the fall of the dictatorial regime in Syria. It is believed that the rebel group's large-scale offensive “shows a sophisticated hand” behind it, as evidenced by a recent statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Friday, December 6, he said that he had tried to negotiate with Assad about the future of Syria, but there was no result, so Erdogan wished the rebels success on their way to Damascus. The article notes that it is still unknown to whom exactly Turkey has granted the powers.

The publication believes that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham may turn out to be a better leader of the “ethnic mix of Syria” than Assad was. At the same time, the latter, whose regime could have fallen much earlier, could “melt away in exile in luxurious Moscow dachas, and its empty autocracy will quickly fall apart.”

“Russia could lick its geopolitical wounds and focus on the catastrophic bleeding that is its invasion of Ukraine. Iran could pause to think and at the same time prepare for a possible tsunami of aggression that could come from the Trump White House,” the article suggests.

By the way, ISW reported that Russia's inability or decision not to strengthen the Assad regime in the face of the rapid advance of the Syrian opposition across the country would undermine the Kremlin's authority as a “reliable and effective security partner around the world.”