Clashes between Syria’s new Islamist authorities and the Druze minority in the southern Sweida province, coupled with Israeli strikes against Syrian government forces, have forced Damascus to reconsider its relations with Moscow once again. 

Back in the spring, the Syrian authorities were trying to push Russia out of the country. Now, while they still don’t trust Moscow, they are prepared to entertain the notion of expanding the Russian presence to counterbalance the Israeli forces.

The large-scale clashes that broke out this summer between Islamists and Druze in Sweida demonstrated once again how precarious the position of the new Syrian leadership remains. This was the second major rebellion by an ethno-religious minority, following the Alawite uprising in Latakia this spring. The most recent escalation prompted an intervention from Israel, which came to the defense of the Druze and launched attacks against Syrian government forces.

There are plenty of similar potential flashpoints: the Kurds in the north of the country, tribal structures allied with the United States in the east, Russian military bases, and the remaining ISIS forces in the Syrian desert. Damascus does not control all of the country’s territory and Syria remains in a crisis of statehood. The Islamist rebels-turned-rulers have failed to gain the trust of major ethnic and religious communities, and that lack of trust manifests itself in sporadic violence.

All of this is forcing the new government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa to constantly recalibrate its foreign policy. Throughout the first half of this year, Russia was being slowly pushed out of Syria. The new authorities annulled old agreements concluded with the Kremlin under former President Bashar al-Assad (whom Russia supported against the current rulers for a decade), including one for a Russian company to manage the strategic port of Tartus, and ended the practice of printing Syria’s national currency in Russia.

The pressure........

© The Moscow Times