By hosting Assad in Moscow, Turki said, Putin sent a message to the region that anyone who wishes to oust Assad must go through him. Putin may not be sincere when he says he wants to fight the Islamic State, but the U.S.-led coalition has not committed the resources necessary for the mission either, he said.

While Russia participates in the new U.S.-led discussions over Syria, it is simultaneously striking side deals with U.S. allies to further its military presence there, which the U.S. government has called counterproductive.

On the same day as the Vienna meeting, Russia signed an agreement with Jordan to coordinate militarily against the Islamic State. The next day, Kerry traveled to Jordan and Saudi Arabia to discuss Syria with leaders there. (Putin didn’t have to go to Saudi Arabia; the Saudi defense minister had visited Moscow earlier this month.) And while Kerry was in the region, the government of Iraq announced it had given Russia the green light to begin airstrikes there too, over U.S. objections.

Other gulf states have sent senior diplomats to Moscow in the last two weeks to discuss Russia’s recent moves into Syria. One senior Arab diplomat told us that these discussions were mainly to gauge Russia’s long-term intentions in Syria and to try to persuade Moscow to bomb Islamic State targets rather than more moderate rebels.