Why does Russia support Syria and Bashar al-Assad and who else is involved in the Syrian Civil War?
Despite mounting atrocities and international sanctions Vladimir Putin has put on a united front with the troubled tyrant
RUTHLESS despot Bashar al-Assad has killed nearly 100,000 of his own people and driven millions more out of Syria.
However, despite mounting atrocities and international sanctions Vladimir Putin has put on a united front with the troubled tyrant.
How did Russia and Putin get involved in Syria?
The Soviet Union first gained influence in Syria during the 1970s by supplying aid and arms.
In 2000, Vladimir Putin became president of Russia while Bashar al-Assad became president of Syria.
For a decade the two countries had a fairly solid relationship but Moscow was always a lot closer to Libya.
However, Russian support in Syria increased dramatically following the Arab Spring uprisings which began in 2011.
When Gaddafi was overthrown in Libya, Russia saw the move as an attack on its influence in the middle east.
Russia was particularly worried the US would soon start wielding more influence in the region.
Putin had a long-term relationship with Gaddafi and had several billion dollars' worth of arms sales pending.
He soon started to look for allies - and new customers - elsewhere in the region. Assad and Syria were the obvious choice.
Moscow also feared a rise in radical extremism if the under-threat Assad regime was ever toppled.
What has Russia said about US strikes on Syria?
Following the strikes in the morning of April 14, Vladimir Putin branded the US-led effort in Syria as an "act of aggression" that will exacerbate humanitarian catastrophe.
In a statement issued by the Kremlin, the Russian leader said Moscow is calling an emergency meeting of the United Nations' Security Council over the strike launched by the US, Britain and France.
Putin added that the strike had a "destructive influence on the entire system of international relations".
He reaffirmed Russia's view that a purported chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma that prompted the strike was a fake.
It came after Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said on Twitter: "A pre-designed scenario is being implemented. Again, we are being threatened.
"We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences."
Previously, Russia's ambassador to Lebanon has said any missiles fired at Syria would be shot down and the launch sites targeted - a step which could trigger a major escalation in the Syrian war.
Alexander Zasypkin said he was referring to a statement by Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Russian chief-of-staff.
"If there is a strike by the Americans then... the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired," he told Hezbollah's al-Manar TV.
Defence chiefs in Russia say they will also respond "immediately" if their military units in Syria are hit in any US airstrikes.
Putin's military has several bases in the war-torn country including Hmeymim airbase, Tartus naval base as well as thousands of servicemen.
Is Putin's ongoing support crucial to Assad's survival?
Russia has long stood by the controversial Syrian regime both militarily and politically.
Putin has even vetoed an inquiry into the chemical weapons attack on Douma.
Without Moscow's military might, Syria - which can count its allies on two fingers - would be very vulnerable.
Bizarrely this weakness has turned out to be a great bargaining chip when dealing with the Kremlin.
Without Assad, his cronies insist, Syria will soon fall into the hands of ISIS extremists hell bent on taking over the world.
And they've got a point. The main reason for Assad staying in power is because of Russia.
Just the threat of upsetting Putin has kept many of Assad's rivals at bay.
Syria's only other true ally Iran would certainly be reluctant to take on its growing list of enemies.
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Who else is involved in the Syrian conflict?
The main sides in the Syrian conflict are President Assad's official Syrian army, Isis and Syrian rebel factions.
Some of these rebel groups are backed by al-Qaeda while other groups are supported by the West.
The US is said to have 2,000 troops on the ground offering support to those battling ISIS.
Russia is also there to fight against Isis, however they also attack other anti-Assad rebels, including those backed by the US.
Iran is also a powerful backer of the Assad regime as both are from the Shia branch of Islam as opposed to the Sunni religion of Isis and Saudi Arabia.
In May 2018, Iranian Quds forces based in Syria launched a 20 rockets attack on Israel.
None of the rockets hit any targets and Israeli aircraft responded by extensively hitting both Syrian and Iranian military sites in Syria.
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