At what price?

Russia is acting as the main belligerent party in the Syrian conflict by intervening militarily on the side of Damascus and by putting its own conditions on who can represent the opposition in peace talks.

It also behaves as the principal party to the Syrian conflict when it criticises alleged Turkish encroachment on Syrian sovereignty.

By pushing itself to the forefront of the conflict as the main party and a direct enemy of the opposition, Moscow is setting in motion new dynamics to the Syrian crisis that further complicate an already complex conflict.

Arguably, Moscow’s performance in Syria indeed “energised” the conflict, but in what direction is something else.

The Russian intervention may have undermined Moscow’s stature and image worldwide as a peacemaker.

It is one thing for Russia to voice concerns that could be legitimate under international law or by virtue of a UN Security Council resolution on Syria and quite another to assert itself as the main aggrieved party in the conflict.

In other words, Russia is acting as if Syria were an integral part of its territory.

By so doing, Moscow could be losing its credibility in the world as an honest broker for this regional conflict and alienating many countries.

There was once a time when the Soviet Union, the predecessor of the current Russian Federation, acted in defence of peoples labouring under the yoke of colonialism or struggling for freedom and liberation.

Now Russia appears to be departing from that noble historical role. Not only that, but the Russian diplomacy and active one-sided military intervention will worsen the refugee crisis and make more and more Syrians to flee their country seeking refuge in Europe and neighbouring Arab countries.

Moreover, the Russian intervention in Syria is bound to increase extremism and radicalism among the Syrian and other Arab and Muslim peoples, and may strengthen Daesh by forcing the “moderate” opposition forces in Syria into the arms of extremists and terrorists.

What could ensue is another kind of armed conflict in the country, similar to the one in Afghanistan.

True, the Russian military intervention in Syria has tilted the fortunes of war in favour of Damascus, but that could be at the expense of finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict that could usher in an era of stability and moderation, which is, after all, Moscow’s ultimate goal.