As the United Nations warns that
Syria has descended into civil war, Russia continues to back President Bashar
al-Assad in the face of growing international condemnation.
Konstantin von Eggert, political commentator for
Kommersant FM radio in Moscow, looks at why the Kremlin is steadfastly
supporting the beleaguered Syrian government.
Foreign policy analysts usually tend to explain Moscow's inflexible stance on
Syria by evoking arms sales to Damascus (Bashar al-Assad's regime is said to
have placed orders for Russian hardware to the tune of $3.5bn) and the Russian
naval station in the Syrian port of Tartous.
But this alone does not account for Russia's seeming indifference to the
adverse effect that its international advocacy of the Assad government has on
its relations with the United States, the European Union and the majority of the
Arab states...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18462813