The two long stages Syria has experienced since 2011 – that is, the stage of fighting and military attrition, following by the stage of economic attrition that continues until now – have laid the foundation for a situation that is simultaneously extremely dangerous and fragile. This has made preserving the unity of Syria and preventing turning the de facto partition into a permanent one, the top priority of patriotic action.
Before looking at what must be done to get Syria out of its crisis, restore its unity and the unity of its people, and restore its sovereignty, we must look at what is actually being done on the ground and in politics.
Positive developments continue at the international and regional levels, and there are indications that they will soon be reflected on the Syrian arena. While the general tendency is still constantly moving towards further retreat of the Western powers, at the heart of which is the US, and with it the entire old world order, in parallel there is continuous progress of the rising powers that have taken significant steps in expanding their alliances as well as in working to settle regional crises that have been unresolved for decades, the Saudi-Iranian settlement being one example.
Press Statement
Moscow Platform
Representatives of the Moscow Platform for the Syrian Opposition in the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) - Alaa Arafat, Youssef Salman, Sami Betinjane, Mohannad Dlykan - are heading to attend the SNC's next meeting on 2-3-4 June, in Geneva. This comes after an over 3.5 year interruption in the Platform's participation in any SNC activity, as a result of several pending controversial issues, especially since an arbitrary and illegal decision was taken against the Platform. The decision was to revoke the membership of one of the Platform's representatives in the SNC and its representative to the Syrian Constitutional Committee's Small Group, Mohannad Dlykan, after calling for transferring the Constitutional Committee's work to Damascus while securing the necessary guarantees for that, a position the Platform continues to see as the correct one and continues to demand it.
On Tuesday, April 18, the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) published a document entitled “An initiative to solve the Syrian crisis”. Those who issued the document called on the various Syrian forces to consider it.
It has now been three weeks since the earthquake catastrophe. While the space the disaster occupies in the media and politically is gradually receding, the reality reveals every day new depths of the disaster, as well as tremendous pain and suffering that is crushing the bones of (survivors), if it is correct to describe those who were not killed by the earthquake as survivors.
(The following article was originally published on geopolitika.ru website)
On Tuesday, February 14, a Russian MFA media release about a meeting between Mikhail Bogdanov, the Special Representative of the Russian President, and Kadri Jamil, one of the Syrian Opposition leaders, stated: “the Russian side stressed the need to establish practical cooperation between Damascus and Ankara in order to overcome the consequences of the earthquake on February 6.”
This statement confirms Russia’s pursuit of a Syrian-Turkish settlement, which over the seven months preceding the earthquake, was the main item on the agenda of the Astana Format (for Syria peace talks).
For the Syrian public, inside and outside Syria, the humanitarian aspect related to the earthquake disaster and the deep pain it left behind, as well as to their crisis that erupted 12 years ago, is always the most valued and important aspect, at least in its emotional and national side. For the political sides, especially the extremists, as well as for the external powers, especially the Western ones, the humanitarian aspect is the least important, and it is just a tool to pass policies.
