Just a few days ago, Syria’s long-embattled President Bashar Assad appeared to be in his strongest position in years. The comments seemed finally to signal a convergence of Syria strategy between Washington and Moscow, longtime antagonists on the question of Syria. This week’s suspected chemical attack in a rebel-held stretch of northwest Syria has put Assad’s government squarely back in the U.S. cross-hairs. On Thursday, Moscow reiterated its longtime position that its support for Assad is not “unconditional,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told the Associated Press. With the recapture earlier this year of the city of Aleppo and the eviction of rebel forces from Homs, Assad’s forces now control all major cities.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 06, 2017 23:47 UTC