Syrian Cease-fire May Be Only Weeks Away: Kerry
U.S. secretary of state John Kerry said a cease-fire in Syria could be only weeks away now that the United States, Iran, Saudi Arabia and more than a dozen other countries have agreed to a framework aimed at ending the crisis.
The U.S., Russia and France need to increase their level of coordination on strikes against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS), but Kerry was adamant that collaboration could not begin until there was a cease-fire and political transition in Syria.
“Now, all we need is the beginning of the political process, and the cease-fire goes in place – that’s a gigantic step,” he said, according to the New York Times.
“If we can get that done, that opens up the aperture for a whole bunch of things,” Kerry said of a potential cease-fire in the nearly five years of violence in the country. “So we’re weeks away, conceivably, from the possibility of a big transition for Syria.”
The sooner political changes occur, “the faster violence can taper down and we can isolate Daesh and al-Nusra, and begin to do what our strategy has always set out to do,” he said, referring to ISIS and the Nusra Front respectively.
Russia Joins France in Fight Against ISIS
Russia is coordinating with France on stepping up air raids against ISIS positions in Syria after the Kremlin publicly acknowledged that a bomb was responsible for downing a Russian passenger jet in Sinai, Egypt, two weeks ago.
The government in Moscow announced its newfound coordination with Paris on Tuesday, just two days after France increased its airstrikes in Syria. The timing of the announcement suggests Russia was taking advantage of anti-ISIS momentum to smooth shaky relations with the West, according to the New York Times.
In a televised military briefing, Russian president Vladimir Putin and defense minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia had cruise missiles, long-range bombers and other warplanes ready for use in Syria.
Shoigu referred to “a massive airstrike targeting ISIL sites in Syrian territory,” using an alternate acronym for the jihadist group. “The number of sorties has been doubled, which makes it possible to deliver powerful pinpoint strikes upon ISIL fighters all throughout the Syrian territory.”
France Calls for E.U. Support Against ISIS
Under the auspices of the European Union’s “mutual-defense-clause,” never used until now, France has appealed to its E.U. partners for support in military operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
The invocation of the hitherto-unused clause follows last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris in which 129 people were killed; the jihadist group has claimed responsibility.
“Every country said: I am going to assist, I am going to help,” said French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian of the E.U.’s 27 member states, according to the Associated Press.
Le Drian said E.U. partners could assist “either by taking part in France’s operations in Syria or Iraq, or by easing the load or providing support for France in other operations,” referring to his country’s large military commitments in northern Africa, the Central African Republic and Lebanon.
Article 42.7 of the E.U.’s Lisbon treaty says that if one member country “is the victim of armed aggression on its territory,” other member states have “an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power.”
Recommended Reads
- The Washington Post: This Video Shows the Absurdity of the War in Syria in One Single Blown-Up Humvee
- Philly: One Man’s Escape from Damascus to Philly
- The New York Times: Strikes on Raqqa in Syria Lead to More Questions Than Results
- The Washington Post: Syria Isn’t Bosnia. And No, The Problem Isn’t ‘Ancient Hatreds’
- The Economist: After Paris, Syria’s Peace Process Limps On
Top image: Members of the special intervention forces return after searching a house in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. France has demanded that its European partners provide support for its operations against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and other security missions in the wake of the Paris attacks. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)