Russia Loses Its Foothold in Syria || Peter Zeihan

Russia’s military influence in the Middle East has reached a post-Soviet low following a new agreement with the transitional Syrian government to vacate its long-held strategic positions. The deal mandates the immediate return of the Latakia airport to Syrian civilian control, with the Tartus naval port to follow within three months. These facilities represented Russia's only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union and served as the primary hubs for projecting power across the Mediterranean. Without these bases, and with Turkey controlling the straits to the Black Sea, Russia loses the logistical capacity to reliably resupply its operations, including its paramilitary activities in Africa. This strategic retreat signals that the mounting pressures of the Ukraine war are forcing the Kremlin to consolidate its dwindling military bandwidth, effectively turning the southwestern arc of the former Soviet space into a no-go zone for Russian forces.