Absence of political settlement threatens Syria and the whole region

Absence of political settlement threatens Syria and the whole region
There are no signs that indicate any imminent resumption of Geneva talks. The Vienna meeting of the “International Syria Support Group” didn’t render any clear results. The American-Russian understanding has reached its climax.

There is no one more that Kerry who can present to his Russian counterpart. He can no longer keep indifferent about the attitudes of other partners concerned in the Syrian crisis. The US is not ready to compromise or make concessions to Russia since the USA has entered the electoral period which will last for one year during which only American internal worries are on the agenda. 

Russia, meanwhile, is keeping its attempts to restore the deteriorating situation in Syria. It is still looking for a defense minister and is trying to reconstruct the ailing military establishment. Its main job now is to establish a ceasefire here or hold another one there. It has also reduced its military involvement on the ground. Iran and its Shia allies doubled their military operations making use of the fragile ceasefire agreement and the clashes between Islamic brigades in Damascus countryside. 

The political track has been halted. Kerry has nothing to say but to stress the phony ceasefire and to threaten the powers that violate it to be not included within the agreement. It looked as if fighting had stopped! The ministers in the support group looked unable to deliver aid to thousands of trapped and starved. 

However, ministers in the support group resorted to another option which is dropping aids from the air; meanwhile Russian foreign minister kept repeating the same tune: “We don’t defend Assad. We support fighting against terrorism.” The obstacle here lies in the understanding between the US and Russia and in the nature of agreed on ceasefires.

It is clear that there is no mechanism that forces the conflicting sides to stop fighting. It is also clear that Assad regime and its allies are rushing towards achieving more “victories” on the ground despite the heavy cost. 

It is difficult after all to draw a clear map for the strategic scene in the region before these changes end and big powers reach an agreement that takes everybody’s interests in consideration. 

Anyhow, the absent part that all sides don’t realize is that this waiting period that everybody is living until circumstances and conditions get stabilized can be very expensive. The economic and living situation is very serious. Numbers and facts from Syria show that the country is completely collapsing. The same applies to Iraq and Yemen. So, do the actors have any plans to deal with these threats that are so serious? To stop these collapses, we need a new mechanism and different approaches that don’t enjoy the luxury of waiting more. 

George Saaman in Al-Hayat 

Translated by Orient Net English   

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