Russia calls for end to Syria crisis to focus on fighting IS

Russian Foreign Minister pledged to support Syrian President Assad's regime against Middle East terrorism.

Russian leaders yesterday (November 26) reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Through this, Russia has rekindled the issue of finding a political solution to the crisis in this Middle Eastern country in the context of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) militants controlling part of the northern territory of Syria.

Syria in flames (photo: FreaBeacon)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem yesterday (November 26) in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Mr. Mualem's visit to Russia follows a similar visit by former Syrian opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib earlier this month.

“Russia has been working hard for many months with the Syrian opposition and, of course, with the Syrian government, in daily contact with them so that they understand the need to cooperate in the interests of their country and their people,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Mualem. “We have also communicated these efforts to our Western partners and regional countries, especially those who have direct contacts with some groups inside Syria. We call on them to exert a positive influence so that they put their national interests first. I hope this will bring good results.”

Russia has reiterated its willingness to host peace talks in Syria, but it remains unclear who will represent the country's disparate opposition. The West supports the Turkey-based National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, but Russia believes the Syrian opposition needs to include a broader range of political and social forces. Russia has not invited the Syrian National Coalition to any talks, but Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with the group in Istanbul six weeks ago to discuss resuming the political process.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also reaffirmed his commitment to supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in fighting terrorism in the Middle East. Russia believes that the rise of Islamic State militants in Syria creates an urgent need to unite all forces in this unstable country to fight terrorism. The Russian Foreign Minister criticized the US for denying that fact.

Some Western analysts believe that Russia's move to heat up the issue of finding a peaceful solution for Syria is a sign that President Vladimir Putin is beginning to worry about the information that his US counterpart Barack Obama is reviewing his policy towards Syria.

According to observers, President Obama has realized that he cannot destroy the Islamic State organization in the Middle East without considering the connections between this war and the instability and cross-border conflicts in Iraq as well as Syria. The key issue is that the dual crisis called the Islamic State and the instability in Syria are inseparably linked. Because a Syria that continues to be unstable will be fertile ground for the development of terrorist extremism of this rebel group.

The US has so far refused to cooperate with the Syrian government in the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, but in fact, Mr. Assad's army is also conducting airstrikes against Raqqa, the rebel group's stronghold in northern Syria, in parallel with the airstrikes of the US-led international coalition. The US government knows that the coalition's airstrikes against the Islamic State may benefit the Syrian government, but it insists that it does not cooperate with Mr. Assad's army and does not consider it a force in the military campaign in Iraq and Syria./.

According to VOV.VN