Spotlight: As Russia pushes political process in Syria, Western cooperation needed

In parallel with its military involvement against the terror groups in Syria, Moscow is also trying to help make a breakthrough in the stalemated political process in Syria so as to bring an end to the long-running conflict in the war-torn country, analysts say.

Syrian analysts say that Russia is working hard to make a change in the stances of some Western and regional countries toward finding a political solution for the almost five-year-old crisis in Syria, in tandem with its ongoing airstrikes against the terror groups.

During his recent surprise meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said "the aim of the participation of the Russian air force in the military campaign against the terror groups has been conducive in halting the expansion of the terrorist groups in Syria," noting that the aim of any military campaign is to eliminate terrorism, which is hindering the political process.

He stressed any military operation must be followed by political steps.

Less than a week after the meeting, visiting Russian lawmaker Aleksandr Yushenko cited Assad as agreeing on holding early parliamentary and presidential elections on the condition that the move has the backing of the Syrian people and after the defeat of terrorism in Syria.

Afterwards, Syrian presidential media office said that the Syrian leadership is open to any political solution as long as it "preserves the unity of Syria, curbs the bloodletting and serves Syrian interests."

Analysts say that the wheels of the political process have started moving now that the Russians have shown a strong will to couple their military campaign with a political process.

After meeting with Assad last week, President Putin held a series of talks with a number of Arab and foreign leaders on the situation in Syria, agreeing on holding a meeting in Vienna on Thursday and Friday and will include Russia, USA, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it was imperative for Iran to be part of the talks due to its influential role in the course of the Syrian crisis.

Iran said Wednesday that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and deputies will attend Syria peace talks in Vienna Friday.

"Without any doubt, Russia has for long been calling on battling terrorism in tandem with pushing for a political solution. At the meeting between Assad and Putin, an agreement was reached that the Syrian state accepts to hold early parliamentarian and presidential elections on the basis of the political solution. It's obvious that the Russians have taken these commitments from the Syrian side and put it forward in the framework of a political initiative, which goes side by side with the military showdown against the terror groups in Syria," Hmaidi Abdullah, a political researcher told Xinhua on Tuesday.

He, however, noted that the push by Russia should be followed by the Western powers.

"Now if the Western powers accepted the Russian political initiative, the war on terror would be better but if they continued with their adamant stances, the repercussion of the situation will rebound on them," he said.

He noted that the next weeks will reveal "whether the West is willing to move toward a political solution or will work on draining Russia in Syria."

Osama Danura, another political analyst, said the Syrian crisis in this specific stage requires moving on the tracks of the political solution and to establish dialogue with the parties that represent the Syrian opposition.

"Most certainly holding early parliamentarian and presidential elections is one of the aspirations of the Syrian people and the Syrian leadership seems comfortable with this option because the previous elections proved that the Syrians, even those who are outside the country voted," Danura said.

Mahmur Muri, the head of the Democratic Action party in Syria, said the Russian air strikes against the terror groups in many Syrian provinces in tandem with the political work have pushed the political process in Syria to the surface, and thus gave an initial perception of a political solution.

He said that "the upcoming Vienna meeting will be conducive in activating the political process, regionally and internationally and will push all of the Syrian sides late to sit on the negotiation table, because everyone is now convinced that sitting around the negotiation table is the sole way to reach an inclusive solution to the Syrian crisis."

For his part, Maher al-Muwannes, a Syrian journalist, expressed a different opinion

"We cannot say that Syria is placed on the track of the political solution unless we see the government and the opposition around one table," he said, commenting on the forthcoming Vienna meeting.

He said that the situation in Syria will further escalate before any possible solution because every party will try to make more gains before the final negotiations.

"I think we are embarking on a new stage, which will not be easy at all," he remarked.

Danura, the analyst, said the Syrian opposition must give a clear and acceptable stance in order for the political solution to be activated.

He said the biggest hurdle in the face of the political solution is the opposition ambiguous stances. Enditem