In Russia’s view, as Putin set out at the UN, the Assad government is all that stands in the way of complete victory for Isis and the de facto disappearance of the Syrian state.

For Putin, the priority is the preservation of the Syrian state. He looks at Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, and sees western interventions that have resulted in anarchy. He foresees the same for Syria if the west sees toppling Assad, rather than combating Isis, as the priority.