Russia’s Syria Peace Effort With Iran, Turkey Hits Obstacles

Just before the talks were set to begin, opposition spokesman Yehya al-Aridi told AFP that the opposition will “participate in the talks but the first negotiating session will likely be in separate rooms”.

But a long-term solution needs Western involvement, he said, because Turkey doesn’t have influence on all the rebel groups in Syria and can’t impose a deal on all of them.

A Syrian government envoy has denounced a speech by a rebel leader as “provocative” and “insolent” at peace talks in Kazakhstan.

The main Russian negotiator at the talks, Alexander Lavrentyev, said it was still unclear if the Syrian government delegation and the opposition would meet face-to-face, or communicate via intermediaries. Representatives from the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and 15 rebel groups, including the Free Syrian Army, are attending, according to the Kazakh foreign ministry.

As the meetings got under way today, Russia’s Tass news agency reports that Russia, Iran and Turkey plan to sign an agreement to “create a trilateral mechanism” that will enforce the ceasefire that was reached at the end of December.

“The United States is committed to a political resolution to the Syrian”.

Six years of war in Syria has turned the country into ruins, killing half a million people and driving the population to seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries.

UN-brokered talks are scheduled to take place in Geneva on February 8. Kerry had been a strong proponent of including Iran, a backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in peace talks. Reflecting the distrust at play, he described the Iranians as “spoilers” and “occupiers” and claimed they are not serious about the entire process. The US is not taking part in the talks, in contrast to previous abortive negotiations, but has sent its ambassador to Kazakhstan indicating that it does not oppose them. The Syrian government has in the past met face to face with members of the political opposition at peace talks in Geneva, but it has consistently refused to meet with the armed opposition, which it labels terrorists.

Ja’afari repeatedly referred to the rebel delegation as representatives of “terrorist armed groups” and said the final agenda for the talks is not ready yet.

Instead, Washington will be represented by its ambassador to Kazakhstan, while a European diplomatic source said France and Britain would also be represented at ambassador level.

Alloush said Sunday that Russian Federation must put an end to what he said were regime and Iranian violations of the ceasefire.

The U.S.is now “marginal to the war” in Syria and this will “not prevent the Turks and the Russians coming to and implementing an agreement”, said Faysal Itani, an analyst with the Atlantic Council in Washington.

At Turkey’s insistence, the US-supported Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces have not been invited to Astana although their units control a wide swathe of territory in the north and are marching on Raqqa, the de facto Islamic State capital.