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Syrian President Bashar al Assad arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will meet with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. Al Assad’s invitation to Moscow was announced shortly after Russia began its military offensive against Georgia. The timing was no coincidence, and Damascus fully intends to ride Russia’s wave of resurgence into regional prominence.
Russia and Syria had a close defense relationship during the Cold War, when the Soviet Union maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea off the Syrian coast and facilities at Syrian ports. In those days, Syria used its relationship with Russia to protect itself from the threat of Israel. But that patronage dried up even before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Syrian defense structures — its air defense network, for example — began falling into disrepair.
Syria’s relationship to Russia under former President Vladimir Putin was not nearly as accommodating as it was during the Cold War, and the Syrians have spent a great deal of energy chasing armament deals with Russia, with no luck. For years — but especially after the September 2007 Israeli air raid that essentially sidestepped the entire Syrian air defense network — Damascus has grown more desperate for a comprehensive upgrade to its air defense network. But talks with Russia have failed to gain traction, and the Syrians have grown weary of being strung along. With Russia’s assertion of power in the Caucasus, however, Syria sees a chance to break out of its diplomatic isolation.
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