By Stephen Lendman
Time and again, ceasefires agreed to on Syria were breached straightaway by US/NATO/Turkish supported terrorists.
Is this time different? Will belligerent Trump and Erdogan regimes turn a page for restoration of peace and stability in Syria?
Will they renounce years of support for anti-government jihadists, cease arming and providing them with other material support?
Will they respect Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, along with the rule of law — what they’ve never done before since Obama regime aggression on the Syrian Arab Republic was launched in March 2011, forever war continuing to this day, no end of it in prospect?
Will a Cinderella scenario emerge at midnight local time Friday — the illusion of agreed on ceasefire in Idlib turning into a pumpkin, no fairy godmother to save the day, no happily ever after end game?
In 2019 alone, Putin and Erdogan met eight times to discuss endless war in Syria — accomplishing nothing.
Turkish aggression escalated this year against government forces to prevent them from liberating Idlib province, their own sovereign territory — infested with jihadists supported by the Trump and Erdogan regimes.
On Thursday, Putin and Erdogan announced the following points agreed on:
Ceasefire in Idlib will begin one minute past midnight Friday morning. Hold the cheers!
Russia and Turkey will jointly patrol the strategic M4 highway in the province.
A six-km-wide buffer zone will be established along both sides of the M4 highway by March 15.
Russia and Turkey affirmed support for Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Their leaders pledged to help Syrian refugees return to their home areas and address their humanitarian needs.
They agreed that conflict resolution cannot be achieved militarily.
A new line of contact was established to include areas liberated by Syrian forces.
Both leaders agreed that it’s for Syrians alone to determine the country’s future, free from foreign interference.
Are Moscow and Ankara on the same page for what lies ahead, or will agreed on principles vanish in the mist of day like after all previous ceasefire agreements?
Russia and Syria observed what was agreed on before, not jihadists supported by the US, NATO and Turkey.
Will Thursday’s agreement succeed despite the failure of earlier ceasefires?
US regime change aims in Syria remain hard-wired. The same goes for Erdogan’s revanchist ambitions.
If past is prologue, what’s most likely, Russia’s best efforts will fail like every time before since 2012 Geneva peace talks.
As long as the US wants Syria transformed into a vassal state and Erdogan wants northern parts of the country annexed, endless war without resolution is likely ahead.
It’s been this way for nine years. Nothing in prospect suggests a dramatic turnaround toward conflict resolution (in Idlib or in Syria overall) following Thursday talks in Moscow.
Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and Damascus are allied for restoration of peace and stability in Syria, supporting the country’s sovereign independence and territorial integrity.
The US, NATO, Turkey, Israel, and the Saudis oppose all of the above, attaining them not possible as long as this dichotomy exists.
Throughout the post-WW II era, especially post-9/11, the US has been uncompromising in pursuit of its imperial agenda — wanting control over planet earth, its resources and populations, wanting all sovereign independent countries transformed into client states.
Nothing on Thursday in Moscow changed this dire state of things, including in Syria.
It’s Obama’s war, now Trump’s, NATO, Turkey, Israel and the Saudis allied with US aims as junior partners in pursuit of their own interests.
The prospect for conflict resolution in Idlib or Syria overall is virtually nil any time soon.
In the cold light of day, principles agreed on between Russia and Turkey in Moscow will likely dissolve like many times before — unjustifiably justified by falsely blaming Damascus like countless earlier times.
At the same time, Bashar al-Assad may have gained some breathing room for rearming and regrouping Syrian forces to prepare for the next flareup in fighting.
Based on how things evolved before, it’s virtually certain to come, maybe much sooner than expected.
Furthermore, as long as US and Turkish forces illegally occupy Syrian territory, a state of war will exist — exacerbated by their support for jihadists as proxy troops.
I respect Russia’s good faith conflict resolution efforts.
The problem is they’re not reciprocated by nations allied against Syria — Erdogan’s Turkey very much one of them.
Another major problem is that many thousands of heavily armed jihadists remain in Idlib. Liberating the province requires their elimination by combat or diplomatic means.
The latter way never worked, the former most likely needed, war to continue with no end of it in prospect.
*Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
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