Mr. Putin reiterated the Kremlin position that American forces have no legal right to be in Syria, in that they were neither invited by Damascus, as the Russian forces were, nor authorized by the United Nations Security Council. “For now, it is really good news for Putin,” said Konstantin von Eggert, a political commentator on the independent Russian TV station Dozhd. In this he has succeeded.”But Mr. Putin still faces some challenges in Syria. With the Americans out of the way, he will inherit that fight, which he largely avoided while propping up Mr. Assad’s control over most of western Syria. The withdrawal could present problems in the western theater in the Syrian conflict as well.

Source: New York Times December 20, 2018 13:08 UTC