The USA, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the main dignitaries at the talks have been in support of opposite sides in the Syria war, causing distress in international relations, apart from the problems in Syria. While Russia and Iran throw their weight behind Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the USA and its allies have been supplying efforts to various Syrian rebel groups, in light of the idea that Mr. Assad’s presence will not be conducive to finding a solution to the four year-long war.
As a first in this type of talks with Iran playing an integral role, other Gulf Arab nations will also participate, most of them with the belief that Mr. Assad must be ousted. Essentially, this discussion is based on a war that began as a revolt against Bashar al- Assad, killing 250,000 Syrians and displacing nearly 11 million others. Said the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Adel al- Jubeir, “There is no doubt that Bashar al- Assad will go. He will go either through a political process or he will be removed by force.” At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif , emphasized that the other major players found it important to involve Tehran this time around, because there was no other way forward.
In conjunction. there were a series of meetings on Thursday, between the Us Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry and the foreign Ministers of Russia (Sergei Lavrov) , Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Their counterparts from France, UK, Germany, Lebanon, Egypt, the EU and some Middle-Eastern countries have confirmed their attendance in the meeting. Therefore, a Western diplomat suggested that the Vienna peace talks were ’embryonic’, as a legitimate step forward. However, another diplomat dismissed the suggestion by saying that the ability to avoid a dignitary walk-out would be true success.
Although most authorities are in support of such a ground for peace, they do not hold great expectations from the dialogue because they are unsure about the willingness of the powers to compromise on their own propaganda and to come on the same page. The conflict in Syria is said to be too complicated and deep-rooted for a quick solution like that.
With these statements as a backdrop, the Secretary General of the United nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon pressed on the five countries to ‘abandon national perspectives for global leadership’, at a rendez-vous of informal talks on Thursday, before the formal discussions on Friday. Stated Mr. Ban, “The longer they take their own national perspectives, the more people will suffer, and the whole world will suffer. As I always say, there is no military solution.”
Despite this, the White House spokesperson, Josh Earnest, in Washington has confirmed the continuity of its efforts against Assad by aiding Syrian rebel groups. He said that Washington’s supplying of weaponry to the rebels is ‘a reflection of the desire… to intensify a strategy that has shown some promise’. This furthered the dispute between the USA and Russia, which began air strikes in support of Assad last month, causing problems between the two air forces there. Washington has hence, accused Moscow of targeting rebels and not IS pockets therein. Meanwhile, Iran has invested several million dollars on empowering the Syrian government and yet, the political forces in the country have warned that Iran’s presence at the talks would make discussions more complex.
The meeting, to be held today, is expected to decide the future of external military presence in the war-torn country and therefore, the course of the war.
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Tags: Bashar al-Assad General Secretary Gulf Arab Iran John Kerry Syria united states
