The Union of Strongmen of the Perm region gave a T-shirt depicting the Russian President to Arnold Schwarzenegger during the 2016 Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championship that takes place every year in Columbus, Ohio. “The Russian terminator!” — the actor commented on the present.

Vladimir Putin seems to be gaining support in the USA, despite not being warmly covered by the media over the last few years, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was happy to accept the T-shirt.

After Russia’s Syrian operation, the American press has granted the Russian President backhanded compliments, comparing him favorably to its own leaders.

“American strategists could learn a thing or two from Russia’s in-and-out Syrian war— The Wall Street Journal admits regretfully. It took Mr. Putin just six months to show the world that a modest military input can decisively tilt the balance of power, and that not every Middle East intervention descends into a quagmire”.

By the way, Russian politicians clarified the sudden reduction of our planes in Syria in these terms:

“If the Syrian authorities, despite necessary domestic policies and propaganda, follow the Russian leadership, they will be able to overcome this crisis with dignity. If they lose their way – again this is my personal opinion – a very difficult situation could arise. But no matter what possibilities the Syrian army has, the Russian Air Force will enable it to outflank its rivals”, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the UNO Vitaly Churkin said in an interview in February.

Bashar Assad and his team ignored the warning and adopted a defiant attitude at the negotiations: no compromise with the opposition; and no federalization of the country or granting the Kurds a special status enclave.

Only winners can dictate such terms, and this is not how Putin negotiates with his most difficult opponents.

The sudden termination of the Syrian operation was a response to the unfair demand that Russia be flexible. Contrary to the US, we didn’t try to obtain total obedience from the Syrian leader as a senior partner, we simply refused to assist him in his civil war. That immediately changed the balance of power and caused the government to come to certain terms with the opposition.

Neither the USSR nor Russia, nor the USA has ever used such an exit strategy before. Both countries got stuck in Afghanistan, the USA also got bogged down in Vietnam earlier, and we’ve seen how difficult it has been for it to leave Iraq.

It’s also clear that our flight group can be ramped up at any moment. It’s safe to say that Russia will be present in the Middle East for a good while. And this is part of the Putin method: we defended not only Syria’s interests but Russia’s, which coincided.

Our objectives are, first of all, respect for the sovereignty of independent states: the leaders of other countries are not entitled to change this. Secondly, restoration of the UN Security Council as the only international decision-making body: no military blocks or international coalitions can act at their discretion.It is vital to dismantle the unipolar world.

The world has changed after Syria: Russia returned to its status as a global player. That’s why Russian-American relations didn’t improve and are not likely to. Neither party is going to obey the other one, and we are accustomed to the stalemate.

During John Kerry’s two-day visit, we consistently emphasized the advantages of cooperation based on mutual respect. “Our cooperation in relation to Syria allowed us to be successful because we worked on an equal footing and we will continue to do that” — Sergei Lavrov said to his colleague.

“Success in doing in Syria was only possible thanks to the position of the top US leader, Barack Obama”— Vladimir Putin sweetened the pill. This is another aspect of his method: awarding geopolitical rivals with nonexistent qualities to raise relations to a level where former disputes and offensive rhetoric can fade away.

It’s clear to everyone that Washington was forced to start cooperating with Moscow in the Syrian conflict. It was Vladimir Putin who forced Barack Obama, but in his own way: he pushed his rival to the wall but allowed him to save face.

The same holds for the Ukraine: John Kerry again outlined the terms for cancelling the sanctions: full implementation of the Minsk peace agreements. As expected, the Crimea was not listed, which means that American negotiators are becoming more realistic. Not everyone is eager for the sanctions to be lifted: Moscow is quite satisfied with the status quo, as the Ukraine slowly but surely turns into a rump state between Russia and the West. Back in 2014, Vladimir Putin warned Western countries, that their love for the Ukraine would be costly. Of course, he did this in his own way: directly and honestly:

“Russia is ready to be involved in stabilizing the Ukrainian economy, not on a unilateral basis but with our European partners, taking into account investments and expenditures that Russia has long provided”.

No one believed him then, but they do now.

Originally appeared at Live Journal. Translated by Julia Rakhmetova and Rhod Mackenzie.