According to John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, the strategy of seeking military gains proposed by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad will not end the civil war in the country. The conflict is still very tense in the northern city of Aleppo, where in the past 10 days more than 250 have been killed, and the Syrian government hasn’t implemented the diplomatic efforts strategy, on the contrary, the violence has raised and there has been a resurgence in fighting.
The original plan, agreed in February, was to intensify diplomatic efforts by the cessation of violence. John Kerry said that the Syrian government must respect this agreement or there would be repercussions, for example, the complete destruction of the ceasefire, which would involve going back to war.
Kerry’s argument was that it is physically impossible to carve out an area and pretend to make it safe while ignoring all the underlying issues in the political situation. For the US Secretary, the opposition is not going to stop fighting Assad as long as he stays in the power. He said that August is the deadline for a political transition in Syria.
Russia’s role
According to the Russian Foreign Minister in declarations given on Tuesday, a unilateral truce declared by the Syrian military could be applied to Aleppo. The UN stated that Russia was working with the organization and with the US to add Aleppo in the calm-strategy that was applied in Damascus and Latakia.
To the British Foreign Secretary, Russia may be trying to support Assad’s regime by creating a territory that can hold a “mini-state” for the Syrian president in the north of the country, where actually, Aleppo is located. Russia in several statements denied that assumption. The main goal of the Russian authorities is to make indefinite the regime of calm, an aim shared by the Un and US negotiators, as stated by the Russian Minister.
The Russian government also said that the unilateral truce was effective thanks to the support of the Russian and US military forces. However, last week, more than 90 people were killed in different attacks in Aleppo. The tension and violence are not over yet.
Source: BBC