Why Putin Is The Biggest Loser of Assad's Downfall in Syria (Newsweek)

By Brendan Cole
Senior News Reporter

Vladimir Putin has been dealt a significant geopolitical blow with the downfall of Bashar al-Assad, whose regime in Syria the Russian president had committed considerable funding and military resources to propping up.

Assad fled Syria and has claimed political asylum in Russia, Kremlin-backed media reported, his now exiled status depriving Moscow of a key regional ally.

Russia's military assets in Syria are now under threat, such as its naval base in the port city of Tartus, which gave the Kremlin a presence near NATO's southern flank in the Mediterranean Sea.

"This was their foothold in the Mediterranean, and from there out into the Atlantic—it will be a big blow to lose that," Edward Lucas, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CPA) told Newsweek.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/putin-russia-syria-assad-ouster-1997617