I'm not sure how to react to Russia's long term stay in Syria. My issue is mostly against the principle of foreign intervention. I rarely support American interventionism but since we don't live in a ideal world where superpowers don't intervene in the affairs of smaller states, the reality is much more complicated. The West is portraying Russian aims as mainly propping up the Assad regime and maintaining it's "satellite state". That is true, Russia wants to maintain what little influence it has left in that region but aside from the geopolitical maneuvering, Russia is doing something good that goes far and beyond the Assad regime. The West are ignoring what the fall of Assad actually means. His tribe the Alawite if he falls will likely face a genocidal onslaught from Sunni extremists. ISIS has already made it's intentions abundantly clear regarding any non-Sunni Muslims. They have already slaughtered or ethnically cleansed all minority groups in the region that they crossed paths with. Therefore, I am grateful that Russia has stepped up to protect these minorities - including the Christians - from the genocidal onslaught of ISIS. It should be noted historically Alawites are a integral part of that region. They even had a state, albeit controlled by France under mandate - the Alawite state existed from 1920 to 1936 after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
Russian forces will remain in Syria “indefinitely,” according to a newly published agreement between Moscow and Damascus. Details of the agreement regulating the Russian-Syrian military alliance emerged as Moscow announced its mission in the country would now include “humanitarian operations", a term that appeared to refer to aid drops over regime-held territory. Russia began air strikes in support of Syrian government forces on September 30 last year, in what the Kremlin has described as a war on the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil). But Western governments say the campaign appears to be aimed at propping up the embattled regime of Bashar Assad, the Syrian president.
In public statements, Russian officials have said the deployment will continue only until regime forces complete “offensive operations” and against Isil and other rebel groups.
