Unanimity over Russia’s role in Syria
As peace talks continue war on Daesh and confidence building step likely to be the priorities
Syrian negotiators continued the seventh round of UN-mandated peace talks in Geneva yesterday, greatly overshadowed by the recapture of the Iraqi city of Mosul and recent ground-breaking developments on the Syria crisis last week in Astana and Hamburg.
Last Friday, a US-Russian deal was reached on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, regarding the establishment of a new ‘de-conflict zone’ in southern Syria.
Two days earlier, on July 5, Russia, Turkey, and Iran had agreed on the creation of similar zones north of the Homs, east of Damascus, and in the northwestern city of Idlib, leaving the Syrian south for US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to settle in Germany.
All four zones will be officially de-militarised, while nonstate players will be pushed away from both the SyrianIsraeli and Syrian-Jordanian borders by a distance of no less than 55 kilometres. This would apply essentially to Hezbollah, Jabhat Al Nusra, and the Daesh branch in southern Syria, known as the Khalid Bin Al Waleed Army.
Damascus officialdom will get to raise the Syrian flag in all four zones, and to reopen police stations, schools, and the Syrian-Jordanian borders for trade, but will be prohibited from sending tanks, warplanes, and soldiers.
Details are still to be reached on who will police the four zones, with the Syrian opposition refusing to accept an Iranian role in the Damascus countryside, while the Syrian government continues to veto Turkish military presence in Idlib or US deployment in southern Syria.
What everybody agrees upon is letting the Russians do the job, monitoring the ceasefire through the deployment of its military police just like they did in the northern city of Aleppo, after recapturing from the rebels last December.
It is currently manned by 600 Russian troops and more are expected to land at a new Russian base not far from Damascus, currently being built at the Khirbet Raes Al Waer, approximately 50 kilometres from the Syrian capital.
The Trump-Putin agreement, which went into effect on Sunday, actually clips the wings of Iran and Hezbollah in southern Syria, while turning a blind eye to the fate and future of President Bashar Al Assad in Damascus.
Ultimately, government troops and the armed opposition are expected to unite efforts in the war against Daesh, which is a high priority for the US Administration.
Confidence building measures have to follow in the weeks ahead, like prisoner swaps, respect of the ceasefire lines, the dismantling of mines, allowing humanitarian aid to reach besieged towns and villages.