The Atlantic

Putin Makes a Move for Peace Through Force

Russia is involved in many of the world’s greatest crises—but there are signs public support for overseas ventures is waning.
Source: Alexei Druzhinin / Kremlin / Sputnik / Russia

With the U.S. president skeptical of overseas engagements and withdrawing from a series of diplomatic commitments, his “America First” doctrine often looks like disengagement from the world. But then there is Russia, which this week showcased its own brand of global engagement—the Taliban said it would attend talks in Moscow where the U.S. and Afghan governments have declined to participate; Russia said it would work with Iran to fight “evil” in Syria; and Microsoft said hackers linked to Russian military intelligence had targeted conservative U.S. think tanks critical of President Donald Trump and which advocated for a tougher line against Moscow.

Russia’s overseas resurgence, its first since the demise of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, has been some time coming. In the early 2000s, it , which at the time was governed by a pro-Western party. In 2008, its military the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The lack of a punitive response from the West was

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