Estimates of the cost of reconstructing Syria range from a World Bank projection of $180bn, made in April, to far larger sums. Russian reports have suggested Putin wants to internationalise a kind of Marshall plan for Syria, with responsibility shared between the EU, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China. As they run out of cards to play, they admit their chief leverage with Russia may be the cost of reconstruction. But, aside from the bid to sanction Syria for the use of chemical weapons, no obvious new diplomatic initiative is emerging. The Russian leader’s reluctance to own the peace may give the EU an opening it has lacked in the latter days of the war, diplomats say.

Source: The Guardian November 29, 2016 19:21 UTC