Russia responds with harsh words but no fire
The Washington Post
MOSCOW — In the hours after American missiles rained down on Syria, Russia made clear it had no plans to respond in kind.
After all, Moscow still wields considerable control over the direction of the war that has ravaged Syria.
Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, described the strike as an act of aggression against a sovereign state carried out on the pretext of a staged chemical attack. At the U.N. Security Council, Russia called on the world to condemn the United States. But there was a second, unspoken message: The incoming cruise missiles did not cross the threshold that would provoke a military response against Western forces.
Instead, it appears that the Western coalition’s limited strikes did little to change the facts on the ground. Russia, negotiating primarily with Iran and Turkey, remains keen to forge a political settlement in Syria that would cement a long-term foothold for Moscow in the Middle East. The United States, with President Donald Trump’s longterm strategy for the country still uncertain, is left as a less influential player.
Analysts say that Mr. Putin’s Syria intervention is part of his effort to turn sia into an actor known for asserting its interests on a global scale. Russia’s insistent warnings that a U.S. airstrike could bring Russian retaliation — and the United States’ apparent effort to avoid threatening Russian assets in its assault — showed that strategy at work.
During the Cold War, U.S. leaders “didn’t love the Soviet Union, but they respected us and treated us as a serious partner,” Andrei Klimov, deputy head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia’s upper house of parliament, said in an interview. “This perception that Russia is in ruins still lingers. You must look at reality.”
But Russia’s backing of Syrian President Bashar Assad and its contribution to massive civilian casualties in Syria, according to Western leaders, have taken a toll on the country’s reputation. The Syrian conflict was one reason the United States imposed sanctions on members of Mr. Putin’s inner circle this month, causing the Russian stock market and currency to plummet.
But while Russia slammed the missile attack rhetorically, it signaled that the strike had not crossed the threshold that would bring Russian retaliation. Moscow’s response shows that Washington appears to have succeeded in delivering a blow that did not provoke Russia militarily.