THE HESSIANS WERE HIRELINGS, NOT ALLIES:

[R]ussia's position in the region remains fragile. It is not currently capable of helping to establish - much less oversee - a new regional order, for a simple reason: the Kremlin lacks true allies there.

To be sure, Russia does wield substantial influence in Syria (a Cold War legacy), and shared interests have enabled Putin to bond with some regional powers. But no Middle Eastern country today is a captive client of the Kremlin in the way that, say, Egypt was during the Cold War.

Russia's recent cooperation with Iran, for example, is no sign of a budding friendship, as some experts believe. Though both governments support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Iran allowed Russia to use its airbases in the fight against ISIS, Iran is keen to retain its role as Assad's main patron. Moreover, Iran would not want to jeopardize its efforts to rebuild its economic relations with the West - an objective that underpinned the international agreement on its nuclear program concluded in 2015. As for Russia, cooperating with Iran in a broader Middle East policy would destroy its standing among the region's Sunni powers.

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