For decades, Russia has been trying to rebuild its influence in the Middle East. But after the rapid collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, the Kremlin is scrambling to salvage whatever it can. President Vladimir V.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied on Thursday that Russia's nine-year intervention in Syria had been a failure, but expressed concern about Israel's military operations there since the toppling of his ally Bashar al-Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not see the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad as a defeat for his country's military, which has been stationed there since 2015. "They want to pass off the events in Syria as a defeat for Russia.