Syria is a long-term Russian ally, before and after the demise of the Soviet Union, primarily under the presidency of the Assads, father and son, and provides the only foothold to Russia in the Middle East.

The air crash might prod the US and its allies to seek a political accommodation with Russia on Syria, and a grand coalition might emerge against the IS. But, even such a coalition will take long to dismantle the IS, assuming it were doable.

It is now abundantly clear that Russia has emerged as the most important player in Syria. With the US on the defensive, the coalition that Russia is forging with Iran and Iraq is likely to get stronger.

Will the action of Russia make it easier to find a negotiated political agreement on transition among Syrians? Most unlikely.

The central theme of Korybko’s article is to highlight the pivotal importance of Pakistan and the Russian eagerness to build a foundation of political trust with the Pakistani leadership.

A growing Sino-Russian-Pakistani maritime nexus in the IOR poses a challenge to India’s influence in the Indian Ocean and heralds a potential change in the Asian balance of maritime power.

The new military doctrine reflects Russia’s views on the changing geo-political order. It perceives key military risks as emanating primarily from the ‘West’ and dwells on measures to counter them.

Is the Eurasian Economic Union aimed at reincarnating the Soviet Union minus the Marxist ideology? While some in Russia assert that the term “union” symbolically harkens back to the Soviet Union, many outside Russia fear that it could be so.

China, like Russia, suffers from domestic terrorism (the Uyghur East Turkestan Islamic Movement). Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has put China on a list of countries accused of persecuting Muslims, thus making it a target for jihad.