Russia's participation in resolving the Syrian conflict again makes Russia a global political player, notes The Financial Times. In the current situation, Washington cannot ignore Moscow, the publication writes.

The situation in Syria (Photo: Zuma\TASS)

By deploying military equipment in Syria, Russia is once again positioning itself as a player on the global stage, the newspaper writes.

“No matter how irritated the United States may be at Vladimir Putin’s intentions, he has become a figure that Washington cannot ignore,” says the material . According to the FT, this is evidenced, in particular, by Barack Obama's agreement to a meeting with the Russian President.

Russia’s activity in Syria “may be fraught with risks,” the publication notes. However, the author points out that Russia can simultaneously solve many problems. In particular, we are talking about preventing Islamists from entering the North Caucasus, and about protecting the Russian military base, as well as about participating in the post-war development of Syria and expanding influence in the Middle East as a whole.

The Syrian regime continues to weaken, the newspaper writes, and Moscow is seeking to keep its longtime ally Bashar al-Assad in power or at least reach an agreement to end the crisis through negotiations. If Assad is overthrown, the Russian authorities will try to prevent chaos, like the one into which Libya plunged after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

On September 28, at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, a meeting of the presidents of Russia and the United States will take place. The key topics of the conversation between Putin and Obama will be Syria and Ukraine. At the same time, Washington called the discussion of the Ukrainian crisis the main topic on the agenda, and Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that “the top priority is Syria.” The Ukrainian topic, he said, will be touched upon “if there is time left.”

The Financial Times spoke about Russia's return to the world stage