It was the first time Moscow has formulated detailed proposals since launching airstrikes it says are targeting Islamic State but which are in fact aimed largely at the non-jihadi groups fighting Assad.
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It suggests that the group include numerous same members that are taking part in the Vienna talks: the USA, Russia, China, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Lebanon, Germany, Italy, the U.N. special envoy, Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union.
“We are aware of the Russian proposals”, British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters at the United Nations November 11. It foresees a new constitution within 18 months, approved by popular referendum, and early presidential elections.
A new push to resolve the Syrian conflict has been gathering pace, with diplomatic officials already arriving in Vienna ahead of talks bringing together a few 20 countries and worldwide bodies on Saturday.
The text does not rule out Assad’s participation in early presidential elections, something his enemies say is impossible if there is to be peace. The United States and allies would have to contend with a multitude of fighting forces with competing ideologies and interests, all jockeying for position in a post-conflict Syria.
What’s most encouraging about the eight-point plan is that it reflects a few change in thinking about the Syrian rebels.
In a sharp response to critics, including both Republicans and Democrats who have charged Obama with failing to forcefully combat Assad and the militants, Kerry said: “I want to be very clear”.
“The Russians are basically trying to wiggle out of Geneva”, said Mustafa Alani, director of defense and security at the Gulf Research Center (GRC) think tank. Carter offered no posturing, no red lines and no demagoguery about war crimes but rather a cold, honest look at how to move forward and finally end this crisis.
“It has to be part of the final deal that the end point will not have Assad in power”. Yet, shortly after the meeting, Saudi Minister Of Foreign Affairs, Adel Al Jubeir announced that his country would still be supporting the “moderate opposition”, or in other words, the terrorists.
Speaking in a personal capacity, he said the Syrian president should not be able to stand because “he killed hundreds of thousands of his own people” in the war.
But Syrian opposition groups say representatives chosen by outside powers will have no credibility and therefore no success.
A more likely focus of discussion in Vienna would be the issue of who was a terrorist, the diplomat said, an element also referred to in the text. The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday that Moscow would be concentrating on this at the meeting.
“We must create security to that the people can come home”.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged nations gathering for Syria peace talks to show flexibility and said the chances of a diplomatic solution hinged in part on the military balance.
“The Russians and the Iranians agree with each other on the topic of commitment to Assad – this commitment is final”, a source close to Damascus said.
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Russia has been cooperating with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which shared their intelligence on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) positions targeted by Russian airstrikes, said President Vladimir Putin in an interview on Friday. New offensives by Iraqi troops, backed by American air support, have begun against entrenched militant forces in that country. This ISIS creed is a critical challenge to be overcome: keeping alive the idea of Syria as a viable entity-even on life support-is a necessary exit ramp for this conflict, just as the negation of Syria (and Iraq) has been instrumental in recruiting and mobilizing ISIS followers in the first place.
