All Policy Analysis by Anna Borshchevskaya

Without stronger American military efforts to hurt ISIS and help the rebels, the Vienna summit has little chance of preventing Moscow from taking the driver's seat in Syria.

Following Vladimir Putin's address to the UN General Assembly, a panel of Institute experts detailed the scope of Moscow's military buildup in Syria and its likely objectives and implications.

The Russian leader's UN speech repeated his longstanding narrative of moral equivalence, and the blatant hypocrisy of his foreign and domestic policy has gone largely unchallenged by the Obama administration.

The Iran nuclear deal has given Moscow an excuse to pursue its geostrategic goals in Syria more directly, and sticking a thumb in Washington's eye is at the top of the list.

Russia can't fight a war in both Ukraine and Syria while also maintaining troops throughout the post-Soviet space, but Putin appears set on trying.

Although the reported intervention in Syria may spread Russia's armed forces too thin, the Kremlin seems poised to grow even more aggressive in its near abroad.

If Washington's Syria policy continues to waver, Moscow will keep advancing an agenda that boosts its international reputation, diverts attention from Ukraine, addresses its domestic terrorism concerns, and keeps Assad in power.

As negotiations intensify this month, Moscow will continue pursuing its own agenda.

At a time when Sisi's subsidy reforms are gaining traction, Washington's withdrawal of support does nothing to advance a human rights agenda and hurts U.S. security interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi signed a preliminary agreement to jointly build Egypt's first nuclear power plant, after the two leaders met in Cairo on February 9-10. This announcement comes after multiple reports last November about Russia's state nuclear power company Rosatom's agreement to help

The visit will give the Kremlin a chance to increase its reach in Egypt while signaling to the West that Putin remains an influential world leader.

While the talks are unlikely to produce immediate results, Moscow could use them to gain leverage to shape its preferred outcome in Syria.

Serious progress is unlikely given Moscow's intransigence on Syria, Iran, and missile defense.

Given its deep, multifaceted ties to Syria and its strategic posture toward the West, Moscow seems bent on supporting Assad to the bitter end.