moscow damascus doha russian defence minister sergei shoigu show unexpected place sign military grow influence vladimir putin past months time wear desert military uniform shoigu hold talk syria president damascus meet israel prime minister jerusalem receive emir qatar doha defense ministry foray areas long regard preserve foreign ministry raise eyebrows russia strict protocol mean minister usually hold talk direct foreign counterparts military reap political dividends kremlin saw big successes crimea annex ukraine russian soldier unmarked uniform seize control peninsula 2014 syria russian force help turn tide war president bashar al-assad favor translate top-table influence say long-serving russian official interact defense ministry decline name authorize speak media kremlin defense ministry respond detail request comment article three source know ministries well confirm trend foreign ministry dec.15 statement reuters say baffle call assumptions liken rumor gossip ministry foreign affairs lead sole government department involve foreign policy make maria zakharova spokeswoman say statement foreign policy make long become multi-faceted complex process involve many part government one part government seize kind monopoly international relations beneficial hardly possible military increase influence however cause discontent among russian diplomats unease among western officials hard edge give russia foreign policy foreign policy-making become bellicose opaque make new russian military adventure likely western officials say allow defense ministry big say foreign policy go look trouble say one decline name subject sensitivity shoigu high profile also revive talk long-time putin loyalist possible presidential stand-in putin seek fourth term election march step suddenly unable serve full six-year term shoigu 62 involve party politics opinion poll often put among top five popular presidential possibles trust rat also often second putin picture fish trip summer military influence ebb flow russia soviet union huge clout end world war two 1950s death soviet leader josef stalin georgy zhukov commander credit crucial role defeat nazi germany defense minister ignominious soviet withdrawal afghanistan complete 1989 two war russia fight chechnya soviet union collapse sink kursk nuclear submarine loss 118 people board 2000 leave military prestige tatters putin former kgb agent president arm force commander-in-chief stock rise defence spend soar military deploy georgia ukraine syria action use foster patriotism military grow political foreign policy muscle noticeable come syria go damascus twice early year talk assad shoigu putin side week president fly meet syrian leader foreign minister sergei lavrov visit syria 2017. unusually defense minister shoigu involve diplomatic efforts bring peace syria role speak importance new draft constitution country meet u.n. special envoy syria talk israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu emir qatar sheikh tamim bin hamad al-thani western official direct contact foreign defense ministries say russian military real heft damascus kind foreign ministry strong mutual trust russian military senior people damascus official say russians save asses syrians respect foreign ministry retain strong middle east experts continue play important syria role help run peace talk take place kazakhstan lavrov efforts secure u.s.-russia deal cooperate syria show differently foreign defense ministries sometimes think lavrov still see formidable diplomat putin trust respect western officials say summon important meet inform major military operations syria military foreign policy interventions include role russia allege interference last year u.s. presidential election u.s. intelligence agencies say say gru russia military foreign intelligence agency hack email account belong democratic party officials politicians organize leak media try sway public opinion hillary clinton donald trump main rival kremlin deny allegations policy interventions include news brief december 2015 defense ministry say proof turkish president tayyip erdogan family benefit illegal smuggle oil islamic state-held territory syria iraq erdogan say allegations make brief hold week turkish air force jet shoot russian warplane near syrian-turkish border amount slander defense ministry response incident much sharp russian diplomats part wide-ranging communications policy include frequent criticism u.s. state department washington foreign policy areas interest defense ministry include egypt sudan libya shoigu involve talk putin sudanese president omar al-bashir moscow last month ministry host khalifa haftar eastern libya dominant military figure aboard sole aircraft carrier january visit haftar speak shoigu via video link fight terrorism middle east one western official tell reuters incidents fuel fear russia plan expand footprint beyond syria air base naval facility center yemen sudan afghanistan military influence domestic policy-making expand russian analysts western officials say putin seek view everything digital economy food security part putin since annexation crimea ukraine alter way take decisions widen scope security council chair discuss include many domestic policy question time feel russia increasingly surround enemies putin consult intelligence service military take decisions meet time say tatyana stanovaya head analytical department center political technologies think tank stanovaya say mean military initiate ideas opinions take account far putin past important voice domestic policy areas back putin russian military push foreign policy