Iran Invited to Next Round of Syria Talks

“If I’m Assad, this is a good day for me”, Graham said.

Many Russian shops are selling “We support Assad” t-shirts and social media is full of jingoistic support for the Russian air force.

Already a few see Russia’s intervention in Syria as a political breakthrough for President Putin. He said most people from Aleppo moved toward villages and towns in the countryside west of the city. But this step was hasty. On October 26, Omani Foreign Minister Yousef Bin Alawi met with Assad in Damascus.

“But it’s not as if we’re approaching this without a sense of urgency”.

Love him or hate him, President Vladimir Putin continues to surprise the West. The president’s latest surprise occurred last week, when Syrian President Bashar Assad suddenly turned up in Moscow. If Bashar leaves now, Syria will dissolve, he told me.

Its military role in Syria has been shadowy but vital, deploying Revolutionary Guards as advisers and overseeing offensives by its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and Shia fighters from as far afield as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Iran is more risky with its sectarian goals. “What you’ve done, gentlemen, along with the president, is you’ve turned Syria over to Russian Federation and Iran”.

What is the real target of this operation in your opinion?

The United States, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are all adamant that the only way out of the morass is to ease Assad from power. Lastly, they have a great fear of ISIS. Its possible role in deciding Syria’s future will alarm them no less than what they perceived as conventional threats to their security.

“They are here all the time, and those are different people, someone is leaving, someone is arriving, but they all say that they are the representatives of Free Syrian Army”, he said.

By continuing to reference the possibility of a political settlement in Syria, Putin placed himself clearly in the center of any ongoing political process.

First of all, the coalition must be cleaned from the opportunists.

The Kremlin said the jihadis used them to skulk underground to get away from air strikes. The US has never offered a clear vision to solve the crisis. Besides the Russians were not happy with the growing influence of Iran. Whilst Russian air strikes have clearly prepared the ground for the offensive and may be an important factor in its eventual success, nonetheless the putative allies are not necessarily pursuing the same aims. Military confrontations will bring only more blood.

Last week, a commander in Iran’s Basij militia was killed in Syria’s Quneitra province, which borders Israel.

The next round of diplomatic talks starts on Thursday.

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the displaced Syrians need tents, basic household items, food, water and sanitation services. “Wars always end in negotiations…” “They have to stop the raids against the FSA”.