All for Show

It seems that after months of intransigence Moscow is toughening its stance against Syria. After a top military official declared earlier this week that Russia would discontinue future arms shipments to the embattled Bashar al-Assad regime, a flurry of diplomacy descended upon Moscow as several Syrian opposition leaders arrived in the capital to discuss their troubled country’s future. But the Kremlin’s invitation to dialogue and ostensible accommodation, experts say, is merely meant to nurture its own image as a major player in the conflict.