Terror experts say if ISIS did this, it may actually smooth over what has been a strained relationship between Russian Federation and the U.S.in the Syrian civil war.
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According to official sources, since March 2011 when the conflict erupted, about 250,000 people have lost their lives and millions more been displaced by the turmoil in Syria. Until the US and its allies adjust their position, peace in Syria will remain elusive.
A draft document seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed Moscow would like Damascus and unspecified opposition groups to agree on launching a constitutional reform process of up to 18 months, followed by early presidential elections.
But for the sake of peace, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran will try this weekend to agree on which of Syria’s fighting forces are common enemies and which can be included in a transition government with President Bashar Assad, their intractable enemy.
“Withdrawal is not yet an option and there’s little real scope for more cooperation [with the Western coalition in Syria]”, he said, arguing the Kremlin’s next move is likely more of the same, with a few flashy cruise missiles launched from the Caspian Sea “duly packaged on Russian TV as a fitting and devastating revenge, but no lasting or major change to strategy”. A best-case scenario would involve the President being sidelined as negotiations over the constitution continue, and then deposed by popular vote once they are completed.
The resolution would also condemn the presence in Syria of “all foreign terrorist fighters … and foreign forces fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime, particularly Al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (of Iran) and militia groups, such as Hezbollah”.
Diplomats meeting in Vienna agreed Saturday on a timeline for a political transition in Syria that is aimed at ending the country’s civil war. The proposal has arrived, after all, just as Russian airstrikes have begun to help President Bashar al-Assad to his first military successes since they began. The proposal also does not address a mechanism for bringing about a cease-fire ahead of talks.
He reaffirmed that Assad’s political fate should be discussed by the Syrians.
But that is easier said than done. He added that parliamentary elections are an internal Syrian affair.
Assad was elected for a third seven-year term last year in an election boycotted by the opposition and dismissed as a sham by its Western supporters.
Overall, victims of ISIS number in the thousands from the Islamic state’s violent brutality.
“The USA hastily organised meetings of Syria working groups… without consulting Russian Federation”, she said.
Equally, however, Assad can not simply be removed.
Iran, too, remains a wild card.
And a further point – that the end result must ensure the “secular and democratic character” of the country – rams it home.
In cryptic remarks on Wednesday that appeared to target the Russian intervention, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that “those who carry wood to the fire in Syria won’t be able to avoid finding themselves in that very same fire soon”. Following the meeting in Vienna, Lavrov said he invited the representatives of those three countries to coordinate military operations in Syria, as Russian Federation does with Jordan. The paper begins with a call for a cessation of violence, especially attacks on civilian populations, and an end to blocking of humanitarian assistance.
Even though the latest talks represent the most serious opportunity yet, their success is a long shot, Gerges said.
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“We welcome their engagement in the Vienna talks”, Rycroft said of Russian Federation.
