Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. A top US general said Russia’s airstrikes in Syria have stabilized Assad’s government. Photo: Wikipedia.

Russia’s campaign of airstrikes against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has stabilized Mr. Assad’s government, America’s top general said Wednesday. That has probably given Mr. Assad a stronger hand to play next week, when negotiations toward a political solution to the conflict will begin in Geneva, American officials said.

Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Russia’s entry into the crowded battlefield had not changed how the American military was proceeding in Syria. He said the American-led coalition battling the Islamic State there and in Iraq had made significant gains, retaking an important dam on the Euphrates River and a large stretch of territory north of Raqqa, Syria, where the militant group has its stronghold.

Read full story at The New York Times.