Race to the Solution

Race to the Solution

These days, an unprecedented race is taking place on the road to a political solution of the Syrian crisis, along more than one track and in more than one direction.

 

From the scheduling for a new round of Astana negotiations, to stabilizing the de-escalation zones, with the possibility that the agenda would include the issue of the detainees, to the briefing given by the international envoy to the Security Council yesterday, the atmosphere of optimism that permeated it, and the messages it contained, the timing of a new round of negotiations in Geneva, to the «Congress of the Syrian People», which is to be held at the Hmeimim military base, are all concrete facts confirming that the momentum of advancing the political solution forward is getting stronger and stronger.

Developments have taken place, from the race of “Quell vs. Overthrow” [the regime’s attempts to “quell” the opposition, and the opposition’s attempts to “overthrow” the regime], as the predominant scene during the past years, up to the race towards the political solution, as is the case now. No one dares to remain outside the circle of solution, and everyone seeks to have a position at the negotiating table, because it has become a prerequisite to secure a site for themselves on the map of political forces.

These simultaneous and accelerating efforts, in which all forces contribute regardless of their contradictions and their vision of the solution, and regardless of their direct results, confirm the victory of an important fact, that was denied by many, and for a long period of time; it is the fact that the political solution when adopted as an option have trumped other options, and that the positions of the forces of the political solution, is strengthened more and more, and that the forces of obstruction in all locations tend to be further isolated , although those who believe that they can directly evade this commitment, are not in an enviable position at all.
At the same time, it is a clear message to those who try to circumvent the solution, liquidate it, and eviscerate it from its content and aims. They are still dreaming of finding new excuses, after the excuses of everyone were dropped, one after another.

These escalating events, in such a crisis as complex and entangled as the Syrian crisis, culminate in the efforts of the international powers, and the rise of their weight and their choices to extinguish the hotbeds of tension and abide by international law. Hence, the first condition for their success lies in building on what has been achieved previously through the solution, ie, the need to deal with these events from the position of support for the Geneva process, the road map adopted for resolution, resolution 2254, and the constants contained in the resolution, starting with maintaining Syria's unity, stopping the humanitarian catastrophe and fighting terrorism, and achieving radical and comprehensive national democratic change. Any conference, effort, or international activity, would be meaningless, if it were not to serve the implementation and support of this resolution, and to provide the necessary conditions that lead to launching the train of political settlement of the Syrian crisis, based on international and regional consensus, and expressing the true interests of the Syrian people.

Kassioun Editorial, Issue No 834, October 29, 2017