Russia's Support of Bashar al-Assad

The 4th of 6 reasons to boycott the 2014 Sochi Olympics is Russia's continuing support of Bashar al-Assad's regime.  Joshua Keating's article states that "10 percent of Russia's global arms sales go to Syria, with current contracts worth about $1.5 billion dollars" (Keating). In addition, Russia and China's repeated blocking of sanctions against Syria highlight the other element to Russia's support of Syria, The United States. CNN's Holly Yan reports that the driving force behind Russia's support of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria is to prevent the United States from gaining influence on the area. The combination of Russia's intent to box out America, coupled with the "$1.5 billion dollars" in annual arms sales to Syria and the blocking of sanctions against Syria should give the United States something to think about when it comes to their participation in the Sochi games.

Syria's bashar al-Assad shaking the hard of Russia's Vladimir Putin

Yan, Holly, Mariano Castillo, Catherine E. Shoichet, Ben Brumfield, and Joe Sterling. "Syria Allies: Why Russia, Iran and China Are Standing by the Regime." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.