Moscow has been the principal international supporter of Assad, and has been crucial to supplying him with the weapons needed to defeat the Sunni insurgency.
Over time, the Syrian resistance has fallen increasingly under the control of Sunni terrorists, originally linked to al Qaeda, and more recently, to Islamic State (IS) which has perpetrated genocide in areas of Iraq and Syria it controls and executed Western captives by beheading.
This led the United States to lead a multi-national force to degrade and destroy IS, indirectly assisting Assad to remain in power in Syria.
Advertisement
In summary, Saudi Arabia has three targets in the current oil price war: US and Canadian shale oil producers which it wants to drive out of business; Russia; and its rival states in the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq and Syria.
The collapse in oil prices is driven by politics not availability. It is unlikely to end any time soon.
Discuss in our Forums
See what other readers are saying about this article!
Click here to read & post comments.
3 posts so far.
reddit this
Del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
StumbleUpon
