Is There A Race To Seize Territory From ISIS By Russian And U.S. Backed-Forces In Syria?

#Russia avoid in #Syria direct clashes w/ #USA, Playing on z margins of international conflicts & regional interestshttps://t.co/S1xFNH1LJE pic.twitter.com/X3ePWCGOUU

— Nawar Sh. Oliver (@Nawaroliver) September 11, 2017

Bloomberg: ‘Like Berlin 1945’: Russia, U.S. Race for Last Corner of Syria

* Rout of Islamic State leads to rival grabs for strategic land
* Assad ascendant as Russian pontoons pave way across Euphrates

A few miles apart in the Euphrates River valley, Russia and the U.S. are fighting separate military campaigns against Islamic State -- and an underlying strategic battle with each other, whose outcome could reshape the Middle East.

The Syrian civil war reached another tipping point last week when Bashar al-Assad’s Russian-backed army arrived at the city of Deir Ezzor on the Euphrates, breaking an Islamic State siege that lasted almost three years. Further east across the river, and still held by the jihadists, lie some of Syria’s main oilfields.

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WNU Editor: I am skeptical of recent reports that Russia and the U.S. are in a rush to take territory in Syria as ISIS collapses. My impression is that much of what needs to be done to defeat ISIS was "agreed upon" and/or "understood" by Russia and the U.S. months ago. Case in point .... Russian Military, Not US, to Lead Battle for ISIS's Final Major City in Syria (Newsweek).