In abandoning Syria’s Bashar-al Assad, Vladimir Putin showed where his interests really lie, Alexandra Vacroux writes in a guest commentary.

The fall of Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad marks a significant defeat for Putin. The group of dictators he supported must now question whether backing the Russian leader was a wise choice. However,

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin warned that he might lift self-imposed restrictions on Russia’s development of short- and medium-range missiles, while warning that the West was pushing on “a red line we can’t step back from.

Hope and uncertainty fill the streets of Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The challenges of rebuilding are enormous after years of civil war.