The vacuum created by the United States in northern Syria can only extend. On Sunday Vladimir Putin received a royal welcome in Saudi Arabia, his ally in the intermittent attempt to sustain oil prices and from whom he hopes to extract more than token inward investment. Only Russophile Washington commentators could imagine that this demonstrates Russia is not isolated: as though the massive burden of Western sanctions has no significance compared with a de luxe reception from the Saudis. The grand occasion was dutifully highlighted at length on Pervyi kanal of Russian television. But not everything is quite as much fun or raises Russian spirits to the same degree.

In bleak contrast today Nezavisimaya gazeta is fretting that “Erdogan wants to drag Russia into the fight against Kurdish forces.”

20.10.2019 19:43:00

На севере Сирии применили белый фосфор

Эрдоган хочет втянуть Россию в борьбу против курдских вооруженных формирований

 

Meanwhile, having expended effort giving Russians history lessons about the Kurdish problem, today the distinctly sober Vzglyad ru is updating readers about the political crisis in the Lebanon, Syria’s immediate neighbour, another unstable legacy of the French empire. See Mikhail Moshkin:

Новый конфликт на Ближнем Востоке угрожает интересам России

 

If the speaker of the House of Representatives and one isolated Republican en route to Jordan on a delegation to look into things in the region are so worried by the American retreat, they should take a glance at the Russian press.