Putin may be a bad man, but from what I see he is the ONLY world leader sticking up for Christians around the globe and that includes the current stupid, useless pope.
This is the traditional (Pre-Bolshivik) Russian role in the Middle East.
God bless the Russian Orthodox Church and all those allied with them for the good.
They could get the Shriners to help. I hear they’re good with masonry and shrines.