Russia's role in Syria: From geopolitical convergence to competitive partnership

Russia, as an international actor and a dominant power, needs to restore its influence and military-security power to the Soviet Union through a review of its Middle East policy. Thus, through its military presence in 2015, saving the Assad regime, it was able to become a major power in the Syrian civil war. The military conflict between Turkey and Syria in Idlib, as well as the United States' withdrawal from Syria, has provided Russia with an opportunity to achieve its goal and Assad has regained greater control over Kurdish lands. So what is Russia's role in Syria as a regional power and influential actor in the Middle East? The main hypothesis is that Russia's strategy in Syria is to play a multilateral role, and based on activism policy. On the one hand, Russia has taken a step on the path of unification with Iran and Turkey, as well as in maintaining peace and ending the civil war and the reconstruction process in Syria; And on the other hand, by mediating between the Kurds and the Assad regime and preventing Turkish military aggression, it has at times pursued a divergent policy differed from its allies. The research method in this paper is descriptive-analytical.

Russia, Middle East, Syria, Balancing, Power Maximization, Multilateralism