Vladimir Putin may care more about Russia's ties with Turkey—but he cannot afford to see Bashar al-Assad fall
THE SYRIAN army is still better at stealing refrigerators than at fighting rebels. But after a decade of war, it finally looked to be learning better tactics. Instead of sending lone tanks to bounce through the hills, some units fighting in Idlib, the last opposition-held province, have worked together, with columns of armour backed by dismounted infantry.
That should now be painfully clear to Mr Assad. Although there are no precise statistics on his losses , even regime loyalists say hundreds of Syrian soldiers have been killed by Turkish strikes. The casualties also include members of Hizbullah, the Lebanese militia and political party, and other Iranian-trained militias stocked with Afghan and Pakistani fighters.
Still, he cannot indulge Turkey for ever, because he cannot afford to see Mr Assad fall. Before the latest clash in Idlib the regime seemed on track to slowly recapture all of the province, home to millions of Syrians displaced from elsewhere in the country. Now Hizbullah and Iran have had to rush in reinforcements to support a Syrian army on the back foot.
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