There are many reasons why the United States and Europe have refrained from putting more forceful pressure on Russia regarding Syria.

 

One important reason is that they have open fronts with Russia that they cannot gamble with, namely Russia’s behaviour in Eastern Europe and the real threat the Kremlin’s prowess poses to the Baltic States and Ukraine following the annexation of Crimea.

 

Unlike Eastern Europe, Syria – and the Middle East more broadly – is not among Moscow’s primary geopolitical concerns. In its political stand-off with the US and the EU, Russia has purposefully employed the southern Mediterranean – Europe’s soft underbelly – to gain leverage over the transatlantic partners.