In an article by BBC titled “Syria Crisis: Russia and China Step Up Warning Over Strike” it details how Russia and China feel about the U.S. lead strike against Syria in 2013 after there were reports of the Syrian government using chemical weapons. The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defined this attack as defying “any code of morality” and those responsibly should be held accountable. As the U.S. and its allies geared up for an attack, China and Russia, long standing allies of the Syrian government, warned them of the potential outbreak of violence it could cause as well as unrest among the Middle East.
In related news, Reuters recently published an article, “Syria Gets Russian Arms Under Deals Signed Since Conflict Began: Assad” which was reported by Gabriela Baczynska and Darya Korsunskaya, edited by Timothy Heritage. In this article, President of Syria, Assad, claims that Syria and Russia had arms deal long before the civil war began and they were simply continuing this deal when the conflict started. Moscow confirms this stating that it is not supporting Syria anymore than it was before.
The first article shows how Russia and China have made little changes in their stance within the Syrian conflict. They still align themselves with the Syrian government and against most Western powers. The second article shows that Russia is the country with the most at stake with the Syrian conflict which gives them a little more to worry about when peace talks come to be scheduled. In my opinion, Russia is a political realists in the sense that they know what is at stake and they know their limit.