Syrian Opposition Site: Putin Will Take Advantage of ‘Lame Duck’ Obama

A Syrian opposition website has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to create a situation that is more beneficial to his own interests even as he takes advantage of the time he has left before the “lame duck” in Washington is replaced and that “it is clear to Putin that the next administration will take a much tougher stance against the Kremlin.”

In an editorial titled “Before the lame duck leaves,” the website Sham Network opined that when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced in March he intended to retake all Syrian territories from opposition forces, Putin replied by announcing that he was withdrawing all of his forces from the country “as a clear warning to Assad that he must contribute to the success of the third Geneva talks. But now the reality has changed; Assad again announced that he would liberate all of Syria, the Russian missiles and Navy continued to swarm toward Syria and Moscow has warned Washington against any attempt to harm the Syrian regime, saying that any American military action will lead to a crisis in the entire region.”

The website added that, “What’s funny is that Putin knows that the Obama administration won’t do anything militarily, but he insisted on increasing his threats against Washington in order to show that Russia is returning to its role as the polar opposite in the Middle East, and as many are saying in the U.S., Putin is taking advantage of the days left to the lame duck in the White House to help Assad rehabilitate his regime and to return more territories under his control to reduce the opposition that will still stand for the next President.”

The site noted that Putin’s window of opportunity will remain open until next March, when the next administration will begin to take action:

“And within these five months, Putin will try to create a reality that matches his calculations in Syria and it is clear to him that the next administration will take a much tougher stance against the Kremlin and against the Syrian regime and that the policy of inaction that Obama adopted, claiming that Russia and Iran would be left to sink in the bloody mire of Syria.”