Ishaan Tharoor writes: The writing is now indisputably on the wall: The Syrian regime is going nowhere. Despite seven years of civil war, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians, the flight of millions of refugees, the hollowing out of the nation's ancient cities and the horrific use of chemical weapons on civilians, President Bashar al-Assad remains in his post. - Washington Post
Hassan Mneimneh writes: Russia is victorious in Syria. It has succeeded in rescuing the Damascus regime, its difficult yet valuable client, from what seemed to be an unavoidable demise. More importantly, it has leveraged the crisis management of the Syrian conflict to create a regional balance between seemingly incompatible powers — Israel, Turkey, and Iran. [...]It is thus positioned to strengthen its influence whether the tensions escalate or ease. - Washington Institute