All Policy Analysis by آنا بورشچفسکایا

Although Tehran’s current vulnerability presents important opportunities to counter Russia’s strategic ambitions, Moscow has long retained its influence in the region by purposefully avoiding overcommitment to any one partner.

A compilation of views on the next round of prospective talks with Iran, sanctions relief options, military and technical considerations, the international role, and more.

Four experts assess how outside players might respond to the showdown, and whether Tehran will switch up its calculus on procurement, attack tactics, and other military matters as the fight goes on.

Experts assess the roles that various actors may seek to play during and after conflict, including Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi militias, Palestinian factions, and international powers such as China, Russia, and the EU.

To keep Moscow from simply reestablishing control in Syria, Washington needs to employ a carrot and stick approach with Damascus, facilitate Ukrainian commercial opportunities in the region, and tackle Russia’s so-called “ghost fleet,” among other initiatives.

Demand for Russian weapons has hardly disappeared—MENA officials would see even a limited or temporary Ukraine deal as a green light to quickly take advantage of Moscow’s new supply chains, so Washington should prepare accordingly.

An expert testifies on Turkey’s new position in Syria and shifting power relations with Russia, explaining how Washington can use both to help resolve the Ukraine war and shift U.S. strategic investments toward the Indo-Pacific.

A senior NATO official joins U.S. and regional experts to discuss how the Trump administration’s initial peacemaking forays might affect the war’s broader geopolitical stakes, from great power competition in the Middle East to rare-earth minerals and Western counter-messaging.

With preparatory peace talks in full swing and the war set to enter its fourth year, Washington must take a pragmatic approach to enlisting Arab help and ensuring that the outcome does not empower Moscow and Iran.

With strategic Western support on grain deliveries, embassy staffing, counter-messaging, and other initiatives, Ukraine can contribute much to rolling back Moscow’s malign influence in the region.

A negotiated settlement is inevitable, but if Putin goes into those talks with all the leverage, the outcome will only lay the foundation for even deadlier conflicts in the future.

Moscow’s position has weakened, but not for long, raising the need for quick U.S. action on sanctions, investments, and broader economic assistance.

In this episode of the Institute’s Syria Breakdown series, Russia analyst Anna Borshchevskaya explains why Russia's long military intervention in Syria failed to protect the regime of its local ally, Bashar al-Assad, from collapse in the face of a stunning rebel advance.

Moscow is already taking steps to ensure that it can continue confounding U.S. interests in Ukraine and Syria even if the outcomes on these fronts wind up differently than expected.

To prevent Russia from cutting permanent deals with the rebels or otherwise salvaging its defeat, Washington must take the reins of the coming transition process.

The director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force joins three Washington Institute experts to discuss the stunning rebel advances in the west.

The West should move quickly to exploit Moscow's long series of bad strategic moves.

Despite Russia’s uncertain response to the Assad regime’s latest embarrassing military setback, Moscow still sees Syria as a critical hotspot on the global stage and will seek to steer events there in its favor.

From facilitating a no-fly zone over Ukraine to interdicting Iranian missile transfers, Washington and its allies have various means of answering the latest strategic shift in the war.

Moscow’s space cooperation with Tunisia could complicate U.S. attempts to develop norms for space travel, communication, and exploration.