Russia Steps Up Involvement in Syria Conflict

Russia has stepped up its involvement in the Syrian Civil War, taking measures that could complicate an already byzantine conflict.

The New York Times reports that Russia has sent military advance teams to Syria, which could mean that Russia is planning to increase its involvement in the campaign in a number of different ways, from relatively small actions like sending advisers to launching airstrikes against rebel forces fighting the government of Russia's ally Bashar al Assad.

Russia has sent housing for hundreds of personnel to Syria and even a portable air traffic control system to an airfield in Syria near Assad's base of power. The Russian government has also asked countries surrounding Syria for permission to fly military aircraft through their airspace.

Russia had previously become cooler to the Syrian government in the wake of its involvement in Ukraine and a number of setbacks for Syrian forces, but it appears as though the relationship is heating up again, with new shipments of weaponry to Syria in addition to the steps that suggest increased Russian involvement in the war.

Russia has a lot at stake in the war, because Syria is home to the country's only military base on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Syrian city of Tarsus.

Russia has long maintained that Assad should be part of any political solution to the war, a position that has put it at odds with a number of countries in the region such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States.

As the Syrian government has also been suffering setbacks on the battlefield recently, the boost Russia could provide to the regime would ensure that the years old conflict continues to drag on.