In Setback for Assad, Russia Offers a Dark View of His Chances for Survival.

The article focuses on the assessment of Russia on the political and military decline of the administration of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It says that Russia has recognized that al-Assad was losing the battle against the coordinated insurgency in the area and is preparing for contingency plans to evacuate its citizens from the country. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), believes that the Syrian regime is approaching a collapse.