By Surging In Syria, Putin Goes From Pariah To Powerbroker
Rarely has a world leader managed to surround an address to the UN General Assembly with as much intrigue as Vladimir Putins impending appearance there on Monday the Russian presidents first in a decade.
This is a striking turnround. When Mr Putins UN participation was confirmed in late July, western diplomats shrugged that a leader isolated over his intervention in Ukraine was likely to offer little beyond another vitriolic anti-US rant.
But Russias recent military build-up in Syria has led to speculation that, rather than Khrushchev-style shoe-banging, Mr Putin plans a grand diplomatic demarche linked to an offer of Russian help, even leadership, in fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis).
This will be robustly backed by facts on the ground in the form of the two dozen fighter jets and other materiel Russia has deployed to Syria in recent days. Some western diplomats and Moscow media have even speculated Russia may launch air strikes in Syria ahead of Mr Putins UN appearance to bolster his point.
The military surge in Syria has enabled Mr Putin to shift his image, a little, from pariah to powerbroker, and again project Russia as a player on the global stage.
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