Syrian opposition figures and Gulf commentators dismissed on Wednesday a Russian draft proposal for a process to solve the Syrian crisis, saying Moscow’s aim was to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and marginalize dissenting voices. But peace efforts in the past have stumbled over insistence by the US and Arab-backed opposition that talks begin with explicit understanding that Assad will leave. “France, because it was attacked in a cowardly, shameful, violent way, will be merciless against Islamic State’s barbarians”, Hollande said a televised address after a security cabinet meeting on Saturday morning. Who from Syria’s government and opposition should do the negotiating?
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There is no reason to believe the Syrian army would ever go quietly, especially not with Russian Federation and Iran’s staunch support. Both countries have given support to rebels fighting Syria’s government, a loose collection of allies and rivals in which Islamist groups have come to dominate.
In comments aimed at those who say the USA has done too little, Kerry touted the progress of the U.S.-led coalition in bombing ISIS targets over the last 14 months – pointing to the ouster of ISIS from the Syrian border town of Kobani and the Iraqi city of Tikrit, the killing of top ISIS leaders and the humanitarian mission that helped save members of the Yadizi minority under threat from ISIS last summer. No common understanding has been reached, but a few movement has occurred.
“When considering the issue of a cease-fire in Syria, operations against ISIL and other terrorist groups must be excluded”, the document says. “Put simply, there are bad guys all around and good guys who are not accustomed to working with each other”.
The spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, recently told Reuters: “The first (task) is to systematize and understand who we should consider terrorists in Syria and in the region, and the second is to establish a list of the representative Syrian opposition that can conduct negotiations with Damascus”.
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. The shift has occurred although the Obama administration vowed to “redouble” efforts to counter Iran’s regional ambitions.
Speaking in French after talks, which began with a moment’s silence for the victims in Paris, Kerry told a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart that the attacks only strengthened his country’s resolve to fight terrorism. These groups wouldn’t be covered by a ceasefire. Key differences include what, if any role Syrian President Bashar Assad should play in any transition government and which groups fighting him should be grouped as terrorists. By implication, when these countries insist that Assad must go, they are referring not just to the man but also to the power structure Assad’s allies see as necessary to maintaining the state.
Saud Humaid Assubayii, security affairs committee chairman at Saudi Arabia’s appointed Shura Council, said the Russian proposal was flawed because it did not rule out Assad’s participation in elections. Eleven million have been uprooted from their homes.
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And the U.N.’s envoy to Syria was right. The conflict has allowed Islamic State militants to carve out significant parts of Syria and Iraq for their would-be caliphate. Had the debate moderators confronted the GOP contenders with this reality on Tuesday, it would have quickly deflated their bravado, since post-George W. Bush Republican foreign policy rests on the premise that the United States can restore order and hegemony in the Middle East without the sacrifice of American lives. The prospect of “terrorist” and “non-terrorist” forces embedded with one another complicates the matter.
