Russia leads attempt to forge peace in Syria
Russia, Iran and Turkey aim to create areas of ceasefire and peace in war-torn Syria
RUSSIA has again led an attempt to step up the search for peace in Syria. It has pooled efforts with Turkey and Iran to guarantee the creation of de-escalation zones where government and rebel forces are supposed to stop fighting each other in war-torn Syria.
With the UN supporting the decision, and the US having no formal grounds for objection, it seems to be a successful move by President Vladimir Putin, even though it is not quite clear whether its implementation can be successful.
In fact, no-one can say now how Washington and members of the Us-led international coalition will respond.
Another concern is that two of the three guarantors, Russia and Turkey, have virtually opposite positions on the Syrian conflict, which can hardly ensure successful implementation of the peace plan.
And there is no certainty about the reaction from the forces fighting President Bashar al-assad’s regime, since their negotiators at the peace talks in Astana flatly rejected the proposed plan.
Russia, Turkey, and Iran signed a memorandum in Astana on May 4 to establish four de-escalation zones in Syria where the government and rebel forces were urged to cease hostilities from May 6.
The zones cover the following areas: Idlib governorate and certain parts of the neighbouring provinces (Latakia, Hama and Aleppo); certain parts in the north of the Homs governorate; East Ghouta; and several territories in the south of Syria (Daraa and Quneitra).
Foreign military contingents may be deployed on the disengagement lines surrounding the zones. But it is not clear at this point what countries or organisations may contribute personnel for this purpose or whether Russia will send more troops to Syria.
The document calls for setting up roadblocks for the passage of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid as well as for establishing truce monitoring centres. If the project proves successful, more such safe zones may appear in Syria in the future.
The guarantor countries are expected to form a working group that will determine the boundaries of the de-escalation zones and address other issues.
The zones have to be mapped by June 4. By that time, the working group will also have to prepare maps separating armed opposition units from terrorist groups.
The memorandum has been adopted for six months, with a possible extension, and needs more refinement.
Russia’s main concern is that rebels may engage in provocative acts to derail the truce. So far, the ceasefire, effective since May 6, has been generally observed even though fighting continued in one of the areas of the Hama province throughout the night of May 6.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin said the signing of the document had been supported by the UN, the US administration, and the Saudi leadership.
The Syrian government welcomed the creation of the four de-escalation zones and pledged to stop combat flights over them.
UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura praised the memorandum as a step in the right direction.
The next few months will show whether it will bridge the gap in the positions of Russia and the US on Syria or push them farther apart.
Putin and US President Donald Trump discussed, among other things, on the phone last week the creation of “safe de-escalation zones” on the way to lasting peace in Syria.
Appearing before the media after his talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 3, Putin said the creation of these zones would strengthen the ceasefire in Syria.
Putin said he had discussed the issue with Trump and “the American administration supports these ideas”.
US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said that although Acting Assistant Secretary Stuart Jones had attended the meeting in Astana, the US was “not a direct participant in the negotiations” and “not, at this point, a party to the agreement.”
Washington strongly advised members of the Syrian opposition “to participate actively” in the discussions but voiced concern over Iran’s involvement as a guarantor.
The US is in a tricky situation. It cannot openly oppose the de-escalation of the ongoing conflict. But it cannot actively support the initiative pioneered by Russia. As there is no certainty on how the situation will develop, Washington has to walk a fine line. Yazidi boy Akram Rasho Khalaf is pictured while in Islamic State captivity in Raqqa, Syria. Now 10, he says:‘they told us when you grow up, you will blow yourself up. Some said we will not blow ourselves up, then they asked which one of you wants to go to paradise?’
Cessation of flights is a separate issue. Russian military aircraft had stopped all activity in the safe zones a day before the memorandum was signed. Moscow is now insisting that Washington follow suit.
The Kremlin’s special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, told journalists in Astana on May 5 that the de-escalation zones were closed to the international coalition’s aircraft after the signature of the memorandum.
He said the ban was not expressly stated in the memorandum but “flights over these territories will stop”.
However, Washington said US and coalition flights over safe zones would continue.
“The coalition will continue to target Islamic State militants wherever they operate to ensure they have no sanctuary,” Pentagon spokesman Major Adrian Rankine-galloway told Tass news agency.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, and his Russian counterpart, Valery Gerasimov, meanwhile reaffirmed their readiness to resume the implementation of the memorandum on air safety and the prevention of incidents during operations in Syria.
They also discussed the creation of de-escalation zones. “The sides have reaffirmed their readiness to fully resume the implementation of their obligations under the Russian-us memorandum on air safety and prevention of incidents in Syria’s airspace and to continue working on measures to prevent conflict situations during operations against IS and Jabhat al-nusra,” the Russian Defence Ministry said.
Russia suspended the memorandum after a US missile strike on Syria’s Shayrat air base on April 7 because chemical weapons were allegedly used by government forces in Idlib.
Moscow described the U.S. attack as “an act of aggression.”