G'day, GZ like your self i've always wondered from early days of the conflict about Putin, did he have secret deals with Israel and / or US,
it always bothered me that the izzie f-15's always managed to navigate a path untouched (unseen?) thru the air Syrian defenses.
This post by Elijah J M made it clear for me, a good read, apologies if you have already seen it.
" ... Today Moscow would like to maintain a good relationship with the US’s allies (not the US itself) in the Middle East, it needs to compete with Washington and establish itself, creating a fair balance with Israel and the countries of the region without interfering in their own internal disputes, and specifically the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. "
