Obama plays up to Putin over Syria conflict

At the G20 summit in Mexico US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called in a joint declaration for an end to the bloodshed in Syria. Obama has understood that the best strategy in the dispute over how to react to Damascus is to show Putin his appreciation of Russia's role, writes the liberal daily La Stampa: "Obama has played the card of recognising the important of Russian-Syrian relations. In other words, Washington would have nothing against this alliance even in a post-Assad phase. Ultimately this means that Moscow will be allowed to keep its military base in the Syrian port of Tartus in the future. And this is precisely what the Kremlin was most concerned about since this is the only friendly port its Mediterranean fleet has left. We must wait and see if the compromise on the Annan peace plan can go along with Putin's desire to heighten his profile in the Middle East. … Quite apart from the fact that the joint declaration makes no mention of the planned missile defence shield in Europe which remains a main bone of contention between Moscow and Washington."

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