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'Time Will Tell' on Russia's Middle East Power Play

Jeff Seldin

   Across parts of northeastern Syria, with U.S. military outposts and
   bases emptied or destroyed after Washington withdrew from the
   region,the fallout began to roll in--in the form of Russian armored
   troop carriers.
   The reinforcements arrived Friday, according to Russian media, with an
   additional 300 military police and 20 armored vehicles preparing to
   deploy along the Syrian-Turkish border, as part of the deal Moscow
   negotiated with Ankara to end the fighting with Kurdish forces, who
   untilrecentlywere backed by the United States.
   "The United States has been the Kurds' closest ally in recent years.
   [But] in the end, it abandoned the Kurds and, in essence,
   betrayedthem," Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesman DmitryPeskovas
   saying.
   In Brussels, the U.S. defense secretary was skeptical, casting doubt on
   Moscow's moves, which some analysts describedas a power play that
   helped cement Russia's role in deciding the future of the region.

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