For Buoyant Assad, Syrian War Enters Tricky Phase by Tom Perry – Reuters
President Bashar al-Assad's path to a final victory in the war in Syria is strewn with diplomatic landmines that will complicate his attempt to recover "every inch" of the country and may leave big areas out of his grasp indefinitely.
Assad's advances have accelerated this year in the conflict that began in 2011. Russian and Iranian military power helped deliver the defeat of the last rebels near the capital Damascus and the city of Homs, and allowed him to recover the southwest in a matter of weeks.
Rebels who once reduced Assad's control to a small fraction of Syria now pose no military threat to his rule. With his allies' help, Assad controls the bulk of the country and is inviting investors from "friendly" nations to help rebuild it.
Declaring the return of "normal life", his Russian allies are urging refugees to come home, saying there is nothing to fear from Assad's government, though many people continue to flee areas that are falling back under its control.
But some are trickling back and Moscow is seeking international support for them, in the apparent hope that Western states that backed the opposition will now direct aid to government-held areas, spreading the burden…