‘Everybody Wants to Jump on Moscow’s Bandwagon’ in Syria

November 18, 2015 in News by RBN

Sputnik New

The Western political establishment seems to have changed its mind on Syria: instead of opposing Bashar al-Assad, politicians are increasingly trying to cozy up to “two new world players,” Russia and Iran, Il Giornale reported.

The Italian newspaper believes that the era of the self-styled Islamic State will soon come to an end.

“Terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut show that the caliphate is losing its power in both Syria and Iraq. … These assaults launched in the heart of the two capitals directly involved in anti-ISIL campaigns … are a backlash, an act of revenge before the final surrender,” Il Giornale noted, adding that ISIL’s support is also waning due to Russia’s military intervention.

Moscow’s success in pressing ISIL militants has prompted many leaders and prominent politicians in the United States and Europe to call for improving ties with Russia.

“Italian politicians across the spectrum openly call for supporting Kremlin’s diplomacy,” the media outlet noted, citing former Prime Ministers Massimo D’Alema, Enrico Letta and Romano Prodi.

Earlier, center-right French politicians, including former President Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as ex-Prime Ministers Dominique de Villepin, Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe, noted that “it was absurd to antagonize” Moscow, the newspaper asserted, referring to sanctions European countries imposed on Russia.

Germany, according to Il Giornale, also favors a deeper dialogue with Russia and Iran. Even US President Barack Obama, known for his tough stance on Putin, spent 20 minutes talking to the Russian leader on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Turkey.

Apparently, Russia’s role in tackling radical Islam in Syria is gaining universal recognition.The newspaper also noted that some in the US have long pointed to what helped ISIL grow so strong. In May, Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul accused GOP hardliners of essentially assisting the brutal group.

“ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party who gave arms indiscriminately,” he told MSNBC in May. “They created these people. ISIS is all over Libya because these same hawks in my party loved Hillary Clinton’s war in Libya. They just wanted more of it.”

Recent developments will help cement Russia and Iran’s new role in the international arena. Less than six months ago, this would have been unimaginable. Then Western media described Moscow and Tehran as isolated and predicted that both would be plagued by recession.