“The Syrian regime is determined to wipe out the last stronghold of rebel resistance in Idlib province. … And Russia has given the offensive its full support, through airstrikes,” my colleagues reported last week.

“Moscow’s goal is not just backing an old friend, Syria,” they added. “It’s also about projecting Russian global power against NATO, all the while juggling President Vladimir Putin’s complicated friendship with another like-minded authoritarian, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”