The situation in Syria is worsening by the day despite the fact that the Syrian crisis is the focus of the international community and world media’s attention. The UN is talking about a humanitarian disaster brewing in Aleppo because of the actions of the Russian Air Force that helped Bashar al-Assad’s troops to encircle the opposition-controlled province. Moreover, according to the Human Rights Watch, the Russian Air Force used internationally-prohibited cluster munitions in its bombing raids against Aleppo. Here is the US’s response to these unprecedented actions: “We have called on Russia, and we call on Russia again to join in the effort to bring about an immediate ceasefire and to bring about full humanitarian access,” US Secretary of State John Kerry stated.
COMMENTARIES
Ulrich SPECK, Senior Fellow of the Transatlantic Academy in Washington, expert of the European Carnegie Center in Brussels:
“US strategy in Syria, which Germany supports as well, is to try and convince the Russians that combating the ISIS should be their chief objective, instead of strengthening the al-Assad regime. We see that the diplomatic process in Geneva has failed, and the negotiations have been suspended. It seems that Russia does not feel the need to compromise because it is winning on the battlefield. However, diplomatic circles still harbor hope that they will be able in some magic way to persuade the Russians to cooperate in Syria.
FEBRUARY 4, 2016. AL-SHAAR NEIGHBORHOOD OF ALEPPO, SYRIA / REUTERS photo
“In contrast to the situation in Ukraine, when we introduced sanctions against Russia for the annexation of Crimea and the aggression in the Donbas, the West is not going to use any tools against Russia over Syria. The main problem in Syria is that the West has neither real policy on it nor desire to send troops into a country that has collapsed and now needs to be rebuilt. It is quietly accepted that it will be rebuilt by al-Assad with the help of Russia. And it is likely that Syria will become a puppet state, largely controlled by Russia and Iran.”
Oleksandr BOHOMOLOV, president of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Kyiv:
“The Syrian crisis will stay unsolvable as long as the US refrains from taking a strong stance on it and keeps trying to pretend that talks are possible. For the Russians, any international talks on Syria serve as just a cover, it is called the cover operation in the KGB slang. This was demonstrated recently in Geneva, where the parties tried to find a solution to the Syrian crisis. These negotiations only led to attacks and bombings intensifying. The Russians really want to radically change the situation on the ground in favor of the al-Assad’s regime. It is also clear that the Russian intervention is the root cause of the increased flow of refugees. But amid all this, we see some negotiations going on instead of calling Russia what it really is and labeling it as an aggressor and not a partner for peace.”
