Next U.S. president, Putin's fourth, inherits sinking Russia ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with members of the Central Election Commission at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 23, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Michael Klimentyev via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Confronted by Russia in Syria, Ukraine and cyberspace, the next U.S. president will be the fourth to face Vladimir Putin and the challenge of deterring a Kremlin often more willing than the White House to take risk and project power.

Over the last four years, the Russian president has annexed Crimea and destabilised eastern Ukraine, stymied U.S. hopes to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and mounted cyber attacks that U.S. officials blame on hackers commanded or orchestrated by Russian intelligence agencies.