Russia does not respect al-Assad's dream of putting humpty dumpty back together again

In War and Diplomacy, Russia Falls Short of Its Ambitions is a headline taken from State Department sources that don't recognize a diplomatic opening staring at them in the face, which is that Russia does not respect al-Assad and his dream of putting humpty dumpty back together again. If State were to play on Russia's need to be viewed as a great power then convince them to be true to their keeping their naval base on the Mediterranean in secure hands by not letting their client overreach into Sunni Arab and Kurdish regions of Syria that he will never dominate. As in Russia's previous success of getting chemical weapons out, which made them look good in the World's eye, have them contain and protect al-Assad in his Alawite enclave by the sea. Of course that would require State give up the idea of a united Syria and for that matter Iraq as well.