The downing of a Russian civilian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula and the terrorist massacre in Paris seemed to give Russia and the West something to agree upon: the Islamic State must go. But a closer look at Russia’s military operations in Syria suggests that the two sides' objectives in the Middle East are still far from aligned.
LONDON – Two recent tragedies – the downing of a Russian civilian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula and the terrorist massacre in Paris two weeks later – seemed to give Russia and the West something to agree upon: the Islamic State (ISIS) must go. But a closer look at Russia’s military operations in Syria – not to mention Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane – suggests that it would be premature to conclude that Russian and Western objectives can be brought into alignment.
LONDON – Two recent tragedies – the downing of a Russian civilian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula and the terrorist massacre in Paris two weeks later – seemed to give Russia and the West something to agree upon: the Islamic State (ISIS) must go. But a closer look at Russia’s military operations in Syria – not to mention Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane – suggests that it would be premature to conclude that Russian and Western objectives can be brought into alignment.