The Russians once made common cause with the Nazis, only to have this backfire on them spectacularly. They are about to do the same with Islamists. Only now, Russia doesn’t have the advantage of superior numbers it once had.
Indeed. The Russians are dying as a people while the Muslims are ascendant — globally. Putin doesn’t have a problem playing hard-ball with Muslims when they threaten his immediate interests, but his willingness to make deals with those who share common adversaries [e.g. Israel, the United States] is woefully short-sighted.
If you throw chum in the water to keep rivals out, the piranhas that arrive — and breed — as a result will not be discriminating later on when you want to go swimming.