When Bashar al-Assad's government almost started sinking in the swamp of terrorism the Caesarean faced Vladimir Putin proffer to the last Arab regime which resides air and naval bases of the Russian Federation. Rapidly Russian direct military support rolled into the Syrian war, and rolled the heads of terrorism, which has multi-national leaders, including one of the former Soviet Union states and Russian citizenship holders who estimated their numbers according to Russian sources for 7,000 Russian-speaking terrorists.

 

The Russian leadership did not skimp on the centers and facilities of the terrorist groups bombed it with various types of Ammunition from Sukhoi aircraft, close-range missiles provided to the Syrian army, and medium-range missiles sent from behind the border across the Caspian Sea.

 

It is a direct military intervention came to amplify a political solution carrying an agenda almost completed features from the expanded government early this summer to constitutional amendments which are under discussion between the "brainstorming" committees and overseen by the UN envoy de Mistura, and waiting to be crystallized into form submitted to a popular referendum.

 

And not far from Syria, the Russian side realized the importance of the role of neighboring countries, including Lebanon, in the Syrian war, and their military and political influence in the course of the war and the desired political solution. Lebanon took a place under the Russian microscope from three angles, the first is the northern and eastern border, terrorist groups from "Daash" to "Elnassra" and byproducts of "Al-Qaedda" are deployed at the Lebanese highlands that overlaps with the Syrian territories. And the terrorism in the depth of Syria can not be eliminated without the closure of borders with neighboring countries in order to prevent the smuggling of arms and combatants.

 

A second angle no less important than the seizure of arms and elements smuggling across the borders, assimilate in the process of drying the militias' funding that Beirut formed one of the veins, which the UN Security Council unanimously made a decision to cut it off at the suggestion of Russia's representative in the Security Council, a decision that bears the number 2199 and with the American approval and blessing.

 

The third angle, which constitute a Lebanese dimension to the Syrian war, embodied in a million and a half million displaced Syrians in Lebanon as one of the addresses of the political solution, which shares with its ramifications in the direct military intervention.

 

Moreover, about importance of Lebanon to the Kremlin, an eminent Arabian diplomatic source in Moscow reveals, "At the beginning of military intervention, the idea of establishing a military operations room to coordinate between the Russian and the American sides in the Syrian war was in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, before deciding to open it in Baghdad." Thus, the Russian interest began in Lebanese affairs start to trigger with the beginning of the Russian direct military intervention in the Syrian war, while the Russian presence before the military intervention in Syria was limited to "positive neutrality" for the Lebanese events, including the presidential one Although the public meetings, which were conducted by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Lebanon Alexander Saspkin with some candidates, particularly from the "mighty club" and what was quoted from him about preferring a candidate over another.

 

As well as meetings held away from the media for the envoy of Russian President for the Middle East Bogdanov with some candidates from outside the club "Bkirki's Quaternary" but they all were not to constitute a priority for the Russian administration, and did not live up to the extent of interfering with the friends of Russia, both in the Muslim world or the Arab to support one candidate and no one else.

 

In a sign of the emerging importance of Lebanon on the Russian map, a private plane landed in the capital, Beirut, carrying "Ontuliy Petrovic Aasekin" Director General of the Russian Federation organization of military export, which includes in addition to the export body, Military Industrialization organizations, and the executive organization to implement the armament agreements with foreign countries.

 

One of the paradoxes about the visit of "Aasekin", Russian President Vladimir Putin's trusted comrade .that it is rare visit from Russian administrator at the head of a delegation at this level to Lebanon, not a passage to the capital Damascus, as happened with his counterparts administrators, but he intentionally came to the Lebanese Republic with over 48 hour agenda which he met during it both presidents Nabih Berri, Tammam Salam, and the ministers of defense "Samir Moqbel" and finance "Ali Hassan Khalil", as well as the military commander Gen. Jean Qahwaje and the Director General of the internal security forces, Major General Ibrahim Basbous.

 

Apart from the public statements after the visits and that Nabih Berri's statement was the most notably when he described the his visitor the Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "skilled judoka" which made a big popularity in the Russian governmental media "Putin comrade" listened to his Lebanese hosts to a number of the wishes that Measure up to "requests" varied between "urged Russia to push forward in the Lebanese presidential elections and press where it should to shorten the life of the presidential vacancy in the formulation of a Lebanese political solution to coincide with the Syrian political solution", to "demand from the Russian Federation's to play a role with the Arab countries, especially the Gulf ones to not to prevent them from cutting the relations with Lebanon ahead of the visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz to Moscow and his meeting with President Putin.

 

" But "Aasekin" seemed uninterested in the details of both the presidential election or the bilateral relations between Lebanon and the Arab countries which saw it as an affair between "cousins." because on the priorities' ladder of the administration of the Russian visitor country a more important took a place, which is the "Counter-Terrorism" whether to lift the pace of the security coordination between the Russian and Lebanese sides, or by moving the file of the Lebanese army "reinforcement" , which is already signed with the Russian side contracts worth $ 37 million with an additional nearly $ 20 million as contracts with the rest of the security services.

 

As well as "the agreement of cooperation and coordination between Russia and Lebanon," which include arming donations will be a quantum leap in the fight against terrorism after the approval of the Lebanese Parliament that President Berri promised his guest to put it on the agenda of the next legislative meeting.

 

"Aasekin" did not hide his admiration for the leadership of the Lebanese army and the personality of Gen. Jean Qahwaje and his administration in the fighting's against the terrorist groups، whether in the military part on the border at the highlands despite the "simplicity" of the military capabilities or in the security part through the dismantling of sleeper cells.

 

Therefore, it seems that the fight against terrorism is the priority of Russia in Lebanon while the presidency goes down to the lowest rung of the ladder to the administration, which shares power with its traditional rival the United States, with much "smoothness" despite the noise of the planes and the ferocity of the war and the intensity of the flames. Before leaving Beirut, the Russian visitors handed the Lebanese Defense Minister Samir Moqbel invitation to attend the "International Conference on strategic security," which President Putin will personally attend by the end of April.

And he gave an invitation to the Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to attend a financial conference in "Petersburg", in addition to an invitation to meet with his counterpart the Governor of the Central Bank in Moscow.

 

Will Lebanon benefit from the moment of convergence between US and Russian administrations on a political solution to the war in the neighboring Syria? And what is the way to gain the fruits of the Western_Russian intersection to almost identification to protect Lebanon from the flames of the neighborhood?