Assad’s fate in Russia’s hands, says Tillerson

US SECRETARY of State Rex Tillerson told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a private State Department meeting last week that the fate of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad now lies in the hands of Russia, and that the Trump administration’s priority is limited to defeating Islamic State (IS), according to three diplomatic sources familiar with the exchange.

The remarks offer the latest stop on a bumpy US policy ride that has left international observers with a case of diplomatic whiplash as they try to figure out whether the Trump administration will insist that Assad step down from power. Nearly three months ago, Tillerson had insisted Assad would have to leave office because of his alleged use of chemical weapons.

Tillerson’s assurances to Guterres signalled the Trump administration’s increasing willingness to let Russia take the driver’s seat in Syria, throwing geopolitics to the wayside to focus on defeating IS.

He also signalled that US military action against Assad’s forces in recent months is intended to achieve only limited tactical goals – deterring future chemical weapons attacks and protecting US-backed forces fighting IS in Syria, not weakening the Assad government or strengthening the opposition’s negotiating leverage.

Tillerson’s position reflects recognition that Syria’s government, backed by Russia and Iran, is the likely political victor in the country’s six-year-long civil war.

It also marks a further retreat from the 2012 UN-brokered Geneva Communique – signed by Russia, the US, and other key powers – which called for the establishment of a transitional government with members of the regime and the opposition. The Geneva pact, according to the Obama administration and other Western allies, was to result in Assad’s departure from power.

A State Department official insisted that the US remained “committed to the Geneva process” and supported a “credible political process that can resolve the question of Syria’s future. Ultimately, this process, in our view, will lead to a resolution of Assad’s status”. – Foreign Policy