Russian Peace Plan For Syria Rejected by World Powers

“The best response to this is actually coming together, overcoming our differences, and trying together to lead the way towards peace in Syria”.

Europe is facing an inflow of a million refugees from the Middle East and Africa this year alone as a result of the Syrian conflict, which pits the forces of Islamic State, Assad and the Syrian opposition against each other.

The United States and the FSA itself have both accused the Kremlin of bombing FSA targets, while largely sparing Islamic State militants. Sixteen months after the Syrian crisis erupted, Assad signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran. The two battles, he said, are inter-related, and US diplomatic and military actions in Syria are “mutually reinforcing”.

Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, will seek to nail down with Arab and European diplomats which Syrian political factions will be allowed to take part in the political process, and which will be defined as terrorist organizations. That conference would choose who sits at the table across from the Assad regime. Beyond the proclaimed cause regarding fighting ISIS-a reasonable rationale but also a most convenient cover for a host of motives-one can cite the basic desire to keep the regime afloat in order to strengthen its potential bargaining position after recent setbacks.

The Russian president also said the duration of Russia’s airstrikes in the Arab republic will depend on the Syrian Army’s offensive against terrorists.

If Assad stays, the civil war will not end. While Iran believes that his remaining in office is non-negotiable, Russian Federation has said it is more flexible on his fate. Also exaggerated are fears of an immediate military confrontation that was resolved nearly two years ago when the United States was no longer, if it ever was unequivocally, interested in an Assad-less Syria. Absolutely a red line.

But other countries may be getting the message. The USA should help prevent that prospect by building safe zones and strengthening support for the rebel militias it works with.

It’s understandable why many Americans are wedded to the vision of heroic rebels standing up to an evil dictator. But the introduction of foreign jihadists, a few of whom are funded and armed by America’s Gulf allies, makes this binary hardly recognizable anymore. In 2009, Assad rejected a Qatari offer to run a pipeline from the Gulf emirate’s North Field (which is contiguous with the South Pars field, owned by Iran) to Turkey and beyond via Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. These would build confidence toward more concrete negotiations between the Syrian opposition and the regime on a political agreement.

But deciding which of the many opposition groups are moderate enough to be acceptable and which to sideline as “terrorists” is likely to be no easy task.

CNN has not independently verified the video is authentic, but it was posted on ISIS-affiliated social media accounts.

Expressing condolences to the government and people of Paris, Ansari said the Islamic Republic of Iran, underlining the alienation of the perpetrators of terrorism from the true spirit of Islam, all divine religions and human ethics, once again emphasizes the need for an worldwide determination and will to fight against terrorism. And so, at the president’s direction, and with those lessons in mind, we are stepping up our strategy in all its aspects.

In the meantime, those pundits who will insist until the bitter end that Assad must go should at least be honest about what that means.

Both sides – the Russians, Iranians and the Syrian government on the one and the US and its allies on the other side – can boast of considerable achievements since the last meeting.