THE SYRIAN CONFLICT. NATO'S FRAGMENTARY MIDDLE EAST STRATEGY OR RUSSIA AS A GAME CHANGER.

In 2015, four years after the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, which at the beginning was not on the focus and "interest" of NATO, the new actors were emerged in the campaign. Particularly, Russia's involvement in the conflict has increased the intensity of military operations and decisively changed the course of the conflict on behalf of Syrian Government Forces. Until September 2015, the main players in the theatre have been Assad regime, Free Syrian Army (FSA), ISIS, anti-ISIS Coalition Forces, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (affiliated groups). However, today "surprisingly" strengthening players of the conflict are Syrian regime, Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah that were unimaginable at the beginning of the conflict. Surprisingly - because prior to the Syrian conflict "nobody" anticipated Russian, Iranian and pro-Iranian militia groups hegemony in Syrian territory. On the other hand, U.S., its Allies in Middle East, and most of the NATO member countries backed the Syrian Opposition and the Free Syrian Army, which were struggling to overthrow the Assad regime. At the same time, U.S. and most of its Allies publicly declared the recognition of the Syrian Opposition as a legitimate representative of Syrian people. Despite these support, in fact, the Syrian opposition and the Free Syrian Army were forced to retreat from almost all key areas, inflicting heavy losses. Beside, U.S. and his Allies, who previously projected the settlement of the Syrian conflict in the replacement of the Assad regime, now suggest democratic elections to be held under the auspices of the UN, not mentioning the "regime change". Analyzing these two approaches - previous and current policy of regulation of the Syrian conflict, the considerable differences between them become evident. It seems that, the reason for this U-turn in policy is Russia's entry into the Syrian equation as a game changer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]