Fiona Hill

Where the U.S. wanted to talk about Afghanistan, [Putin] wanted to talk about Chechnya and have the U.S. turn a blind eye to the human-rights abuses there.

Erdogan is desperately trying to figure out some form of solution in Syria ... Putin has all the patience to see events play out. What worries him is not the bloodshed but the collapse of Syria, and the knock-on effects of that further afield.