In part, it is also driven by the new leadership team in Saudi Arabia, which emerged with the accession to the throne of King Salman in January.
Advertisement
More than 220,000 people have been killed in the four-year conflict that has driven 4 million refugees overseas. Despite his government’s brutality and aerial bombardment that has leveled some opposition-held areas, the 50-year-old former eye doctor now seems, at least to some, comparatively more palatable.
American President Barack Obama has expressed that the menace posed by ISIS to Syria can be satisfactorily resolved only without the full participation of Russian Federation and Turkey.
“We will do everything in our power politically so that peace and stability return to Syria”, said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in Tehran.
He made it clear that Syria is going ahead with fighting terrorism until the entire Syrian territory gets rid of it.
Although few will say so in public, there is an increasing, if grudging, acceptance that a compromise may in the end be essential.
Kerry and Zarif, who spent weeks negotiating a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, are on first name terms, calling each other John and Javad.
“This is another push in Russia’s campaign to legitimize Assad in the eyes of the worldwide community, using the threat of the Islamic State”, the diplomat said. “We’re seeing a huge uptick in shuttle diplomacy by all sides”. Iran hopes Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir’s positive response to Iran’s call for dialogue will be put into practice, he added. The session included discussions about the Syrian crisis.
Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov[2] was quoted in the press as having said that, “Moscow has stressed multiple times that helping Syrian opposition, let alone helping with financial or (military) technical means, would lead to a further destabilization of the situation in the country”. The newspaper said a plan by Russian President Vladimir Putin would see a coalition of like-minded participatants from the Syrian and the Iraqi armies as well as Kurds and neighbouring countries. Foreign ministry officials also knocked down the claim to Iran’s Fars News Agency.
Iran is Syria government’s major ally besides Russian Federation. By supporting the creation of militias that tend to answer to Iran and its allies, for instance, the Iranians have been able to circumvent Syria’s leadership when necessary, a strategy also adopted in Iraq. S. has tried to focus on fighting the Islamic State group, not forces loyal to Assad, in Syria.
The two big powers are now exploring how far they could work together to bring peace to Syria.
Advertisement
Velayati said, “Their dreams will not come true and their seditious and divisive plots will not yield results in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries”.
