Top diplomats from Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey held talks in a frosty atmosphere on Friday on how to end the Syrian conflict, with the sides sharply at odds on the future of Bashar Al Assad. The Vienna meeting took place three weeks after Moscow thrust itself into the heart of the crisis by launching a bombing campaign in support of the Syrian president, that has drawn sharp condemnation from the west.And Russia and Jordan said they had agreed to “coordinate” their military operations in Syria.The crunch talks at a Vienna hotel brought together Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state John Kerry with their Saudi counterpart Adel Al Jubeir and Turkey’s Feridun Sinirlioglu. Washington, Riyadh and Ankara — which all back groups battling against Mr Al Assad — were sounding out Mr Lavrov after the embattled Syrian strongman made a surprise visit to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin this week. The Syrian crisis, which emerged as the majority of people stood up against Bashr al Asad regime, led to destruction all around as the forces of Damascus regime bombed the opposition and hundreds of thousands of people have been made homeless. First these displaced people took refuge in neighbouring countries – Turkey and Jordan – and now they are desperate to reach Europe to find a living, losing hope of any peace and future for their children. The Russian involvement in Syrian crisis to help its ally, Bashr al Asad has further complicated the situation and there is every danger of a clash between the air forces of US and Russia that are bombing Daesh and anti Asad fighters respectively. The major obstacle in the crisis is Bashr al Asad who is not ready to submit to the will of the majority and to make the talks meaningful and productive he should be brought to the negotiating table. Unless and until Bashr al Asad is persuaded for an honourable exit in the light of peace formula, that the four powers are working to evolve, a solution would not be possible. Similarly Iran should also be made part of the negotiations because Tehran is now fully involved in Syria. Iranian Advisors and troops are very much fighting against those opposed to President Asad and if Iran is part of the negotiations, it could play a role to in bringing peace in the area.
pk.shafaqna.com
