U.S. accusations that Russia is supplying the Syrian regime with weapons to attack civilians have marked a significant escalation of tensions between the two countries. That tension was visible at a meeting between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin before the start of the G-20 summit yesterday where the two leaders issued the blandest joint statement that talked only of a need for the violence in Syria to stop and for a political solution to be achieved. It was evident that Russia was angered by the accusations of arms shipments. But while diplomacy may suffer in the short term, Washington's new hard line may advance U.S. policy goals over the long term.


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