UPDATED 7:21 AM EST, December 21, 2012
Russian President Vladimir Putin may be slowly distancing Russia from the embattled regime of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. The Los Angeles Times conveys Putin's comments, in which he acknowledged that Syria's conflict has devolved into a sectarian proxy war and expressed "concern" for the regime's fate. Putin's comments come a week after Russia's top Middle East envoy, deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov, also noted that Assad's government may be overthrown.
