Bangladesh, May 29 -- Ksenia Svetlova, a researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel and former member of the Israeli Knesset, spoke with Middle East Forum Radio host Gregg Roman on May 20 about Russia's interests in Syria.

Svetlova began by dispelling widespread speculation among outside observers that Russia wants to get rid of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime it has propped up through direct military intervention since 2015. This speculation was sparked last month by a series of reports in a Russian media outlet owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch "very close" to President Vladimir Putin, saying that Moscow was considering alternatives, one of which cited a public opinion survey saying only 32 percent...