Alexander J. Motyl: Putin’s Syria gambit

A portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) hangs in a restaurant in the coastal city of Latakia, the provincial capital of the heartland of Syrian president's Alawite sect, on March 17, 2016. Russia's surprise withdrawal from Syria came after Moscow helped President Bashar al-Assad's regime gain the upper hand in the conflict, analysts say, but the war is far from over. Putin on March 14 ordered the "main part" of Russia's forces out of a Syria, saying Moscow's military goals in intervening had been largely met.