For 300 years the Russians have desired a warm water port and open access to the Mediterranean and that is exactly what they were almost able to achieve when Obama was president.
Now, must work to keep Russia from having control and open access to a warm water port and Syria is where that conflict is right now.
“Now, must work to keep Russia from having control and open access to a warm water port”
Why?
The Russians are looking at another port in Libya near the Egyptian border where they have a client general.
They had that port since about 1970 sport.
The key takeaway in the OP cannot be a surprise to anyone, even if some freepers don’t like the source it should be obvious that the Russians are acting in self interest. It may or may not be specifically to hamstring US maneuvers but generally to gain a toehold in the mideast. They were shut out of the region entirely (except for one small naval port in Syria) after Carter’s Camp David accords flipped Egypt to the West.
Another issue that surely must be a factor is the upcoming gas pipeline from Israel to Europe. For those who don’t know Israel has discovered massive underwater gas reserves. Currently, Europe is almost entirely dependent on Russia for natural gas imports and Russian enterprises have over 90% market share into Europe. The new pipelines - being routed through Turkey and Cyprus iirc, will provide Europe a second source and reduce Russian market share and EU dependency. Having a warm water Mediterranean port allows Russia to project more power and influence over the gas. I am not suggesting they would attack it unprovoked but having the capability is a chess board move and will draw EU and NATO attention and resources.