US, Russia told to resolve Syria war
abu dhabi — Set aside your differences and reach a political consensus to end Syrian crisis, experts who converged for a summit in Abu Dhabi urged Russia and US administrations on Sunday.
Sharing their concerns, senior policy makers and political experts, during the second day of the Beirut Institute Summit, said that the two great nations have to come up with a common political solution to peacefully end the Syrian war and bring back peace in the entire region or else the war will escalate even further.
The summit was held to discuss and formulate policies for efficient Arab engagement on the global stage. The international political experts also discussed the latest American-Russian dynamics in the Middle East and what Russians want in the Middle East. Many agreed that both America and Russia have similar interests in the region including protecting their national security, political influence and economic benefits.
Dr Elliot Abrams, senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations in USA, said Russia has been a long partner of Syria and that it was trying to demonstrate that it is capable of solving the Syrian crisis to set a future model. “The Russians are seeing a lot of opportunities through advancing their interests particularly in Syria where they have had a long relationship. They want very much to keep those bases especially the navy base that they have in that country,” said Abrams.
“But the critical question is that whether they have chosen a bad partner in Iran. They can be having good relations with the Arabs and Israelis but they can’t do that with Iran because Iran has different objectives. Iran wants to take control of Syria like it has done in Lebanon.”
According to Abrams, a political solution is needed to end the Syrian crisis and this would include getting rid of Assad and elect a new government. “America and Russia have to come to an agreement and this should only be realised after there is a balance militarily (in Syria).” Calling the Syrian crisis one of the most urgent problem, Ambassador Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, deputy special envoy of the secretary-general of the United Nations for Syria and Egypt, said the American intervention in the Syrian crisis is very important to foster peace in the region.
“The Syrian war is a big problem that requires diligence intervention by Americans to negotiate a peaceful solution,” said Ramzy. “Foreign forces in Syria is a threat to the security and stability of the region and this issue only requires a peaceful political negotiation.”
ismail@khaleejtimes.com
Russia has not been a constructive force because it has directly enabled the Assad regime in its brutal campaign against its own people.”
Russian exit from Syria is unpredictable and it will largely depend on other nations, like the US, because Russia also has interests in the country especially regarding its security.” Dr Andrey Bystristsky, chairman, Valdai Discussion Club, Russia Vance Serchuk, executive director, KKR Global Institute, USA