The Assad regime has consistently adopted an anti-Western stance, aligning itself with the Soviet Union and later with Russia. Today, Syria represents Russia’s only remaining toehold in the Arab world, while all of Assad’s regional opponents are US allies.
另一方面，俄罗斯和伊朗（及其代理人黎巴嫩真主党）出于各自的理由支持着巴沙尔·阿萨德政权。俄罗斯的动机与冷战残留思想有关。巴沙尔政权一直采取反西方立场，与苏联（后来与俄罗斯）站在同一条战壕里。如今，叙利亚代表着俄罗斯在阿拉伯世界的仅存的硕果，而巴沙尔政权的地区敌人皆是美国盟友。