NEWS reports said major powers narrowed their differences over the Syrian civil war on Friday but remained divided over the key issue of the future of President Bashar al-Assad whose brutal dictatorial regime led Syrian people to revolt. The Syria conflict has claimed quarter of a million lives and triggered an exodus of refugees to Europe. Syrian refugees have already created the biggest human disaster and those who are responsible are now avoiding their responsibility to end the war, because so many players are there to make a decision protecting every one’s interest. Syrian people have the least say in the unfolding situation.
Top diplomats from 17 countries, United Nations and European Union, gathered in Vienna for the talks this time bringing together all outside players in the four-year-old crisis for the first time. It is a new development where at least so many minds were put together to search ways and means to end the war. But on more substantive issue on removal of Bashar al-Assad they failed to remove the major bottleneck to peace. However we welcome the new talks after the failure of Geneva Peace Conference in 2013 between the warring parties and hope that the platform will be able at the end to stop the bloodshed.
The Western allies so long saw the killing of Muslims in Syria after similar civil wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya in the name of regime change. They have now narrowed their differences when Russia has rather come to the aid of Bashar al-Assad and Iran sent ground troops to protect the despotic regime. The US-led coalition has failed to end Assad regime, although they encourage the nation to revolt opening the civil war which has divided the nation into three parts with militant Islamic State controlling part of it.
Friday’s Vienna meeting on Syria conflict opened when rival groups have already killed several millions of men, women and children. In this quagmire situation the US has also announced sustained deployment of ground troops to Syria to help the anti-jihadist fight. It is now a three pronged war where western backed Free Syria Army, IS militants and forces of Bashar al-Assad are fighting with no visible end to the plight of the Syrian people. In this war, Russia and Iran want the regime of Bashar al-Assad to continue, western allies, Turkey and Saudi Arabia want moderate Free Syrian Army to take power in the country while the IS is pressing for more land.
The Vienna talks should concentrate on human tragedy for the Syrian people and not on big power politics. President Assad is a butcher and he is the problem, keeping him in power cannot be the solution.
