Lavrov drags Middle East into abyss

There is a big difference between fearing for the unity of Syria and threatening to disassemble it. And this is not the first time that Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has issued threats. Russian minister’s speech shows the conviction of its failure (and Iran’s) to support the Assad regime and therefore it wants to impose a political solution from above, based on reconciliation, under the title of the Geneva Accord. The Iranian/Russian political project is aimed at persuading the West not to support the opposition until the date of the end of Assad’s presidency in the middle of next year. As if Assad was originally elected legitimately, so as anyone should respect the end of his legal term! And after that, the Russians want elections to ensure the agreement of the conflicting parties today to form a government. Russia and Iran’s project could bring only two things: The division of the opposition and the sabotage of the rest of Syria. So, Lavrov threatens the Syrians that should they refuse this plan, their country would be dismantled and destroyed. The question is, what remains of the unity of the country or its regime that the Russians, Iranians and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, could pledge to guarantee their existence? The Syrians have before them a few options, not including co-existing with the current regime or even in part, because it will distract the opposition, spark additional internal wars, and destroy what is left standing. The more reasonable option is to accept a peaceful transition undertaken by the concerned countries, including Russia, of course. With it, all figures of the regime should leave, starting with Assad, and seek asylum in Russia, Algeria or Iran or Baghdad or any other countries on their side. The opposition must accept that they will allow international protection for minorities in their areas, which fear the fall of the regime, especially the Alawite sect, which is the victim of a sectarian system deliberately built by Assad’s father to support his existence. Against this, international protection would be granted to the new state from parties such as Hezbollah and remnants of the old regime. What can we say to the US Secretary of State John Kerry is that do not believe the Russians and the Iranians based on America’s concerns only, which is to impose a political solution aimed at getting rid of jihadist groups, because what they are suggesting would practically expand the circle of conflict, and enhance the development of terrorist groups. This would inevitably absorb and take advantage of the anger of the majority of Syrians; the people who were forced to accept this solution after having paid the price of 100,000 dead, five million homeless and a devastated country. The solution must move in the opposite direction, and that the international community must give the majority of Syrians their political rights within a democratic system, and that means ousting Assad immediately and not after a year. Lavrov’s project, and it seems that the Americans are unfortunately following him, is trying to impose an impossible political partnership, and would disrupt the progress of the opposition to the middle of next year. The first to put forward this idea were the Iranians under the pretext of preventing sectarian strife, and gaining control of the domestic situation. Something almost akin to madness because it achieves the objectives of the Iranian regime to prevent the birth of the new State of Syria. This is because it threatens their interests, and Lavrov became the voice of Iran, that aims to keep Syria in sustained chaos and conflict, and not vice versa. The absolute aim of Iranians is always to sow chaos by supporting terrorism, to perpetuate the fear from chaos and terror, as if Assad’s regime would prevent this. All this is in order to stop the Western armament and to prevent the opposition from making progress, especially after the failure of Iran and Russia militarily. Their ally Assad is useless in his palace, playing the president’s role in an exaggerated play, with stepped up media appearances and visits, like when he visited a power station for the first time in his life, to say to the people that he is alive and present, while the capital has become a ghost town. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.