Syria’s tolerated opposition due in Moscow for talks

Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is scheduled to visit Russian Federation by the end of this year, an indication that the relations between the countries are improving drastically. The opposition insists that his removal is fundamental to a peace deal. And that is while Russian relations with the Saudis used to aggravate just because of the Syrian issue. This gave grounds to rumors of a possible mediation role being played by Moscow, which has repeatedly stated its desire to reduce tensions in the region arising due to events in Syria.

After more than 250,000 deaths in a war egged on, in part, by the same regional rivals that are heading the diplomatic process, Syrians are understandably skeptical of a resolution.

Publicly, neither side has shown a willingness to budge from its stance on whether Assad could ever be at the helm of a post-war government.

“We have always advocated that the fate of Syria should be decided by the Syrians themselves – without outside intervention, without any preconditions, without any quick fixes being imposed by external players, from anywhere in the world“, said Lavrov. Iran opposes the group because it is Sunni and Iran’s leadership is Shiite. Many of those governments already consider the Turkish strikes on the territory of Iraq and Syria as a violation of the sovereignty of these two states. However, Riyadh’s requirement for Russian kit is questionable, raising the possibility that its overtures to Moscow are primarily designed to limit arms exports to Iran. The origin of those stories was a statement by the commander of the Russian Airborne Troops (VDV), Col. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov, who told reporters August 4 that the VDV “are ready to assist Syria in countering terrorists, if such a task is set by Russia’s leaders”, provided the relevant UN Security Council mandate has been given. For now, this is only the fervent (if not sick) imagination of that author speaking. This would relieve Saudi Arabia of whatever “pressure” it feels and ease some of its anti-Iranian paranoia, which could help the US convince them that the deal wasn’t “so bad” for its interests and thus work to reverse the Russian reorientation to a certain degree. Heavy fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow may be escalating support for separatist rebels.

“We are sincerely interested in helping all Syrians unite around the pivotal task of preserving their country to maintain stability in the Syrian Arab Republic, and prevent its transformation into something resembling a seedbed of terrorism and suchlike threats…”

It also mentions the creation of “an inclusive transitional governing body”. Compromise formulas like “democratic decentralization” or “pluralistic decentralization” look quite convincing, but they also elicit circumspection from the supporters of a centralized unitary state as well as all Arab nationalists. That three of those four “met this week to discuss options for winding down the war in Syria is as strong a sign as we are likely to get that all key parties now seriously seek a political solution to ending the war(s) in Syria”. In this regard, it is feared that this principle could become an excuse to exact revenge against those whom the opposition wants to convince to share, or completely relinquish power.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since its initial publication.