.
While the historic passage of the Sustainable Development Goals last Friday highlights the potential for the United Nations General Assembly meeting to bring the world together for social progress, the past two days of political maneuvering over the civil war in Syria have proven many deep divisions still lie within the global community. On Monday, the floor of the UN General Assembly opened, and the main topic of debate was made clear immediately: ending the war in Syria. The sudden rise of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) elevated the Syrian civil war into a regional conflict, but recently the emergent refugee crisis throughout Europe has firmly established the conflict as a transnational issue—one the world leaders can no longer ignore. In their addresses to the UNGA, the United States and France insisted that Syria's President Bashar al-Assad cannot be a part of a durable peace solution in Syria, let alone in the post-conflict process. On the other side of this issue were Iran and Russia; both leaders called for the inclusion of al-Assad in tackling the common enemy of Islamic State (IS) militants. In his speech to the UNGA, U.S. President Obama said compromise among powers would be essential to ending the Syrian conflict, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives and forced four million to flee. “Lasting stability can only take hold when the people of Syria forge an agreement to live together peacefully,” he said. “The U.S. is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict. But we must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo.” “Compromise will be required to end the conflict and defeat ISIL and al-Qaeda,” but there must be a process to find a new Syrian leader who represents all of the Syrian people, Obama said. French President Francois Hollande said that, while he was prepared to work with Iran and Russia, he would explain to them "the route to a solution does not go through Bashar al-Assad". It's been reported that French authorities have launched a criminal probe against the Assad regime for alleged war crimes committed between 2011 and 2013, a new development from a preliminary war crimes inquiry opened on September 15. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not in the assembly hall for Obama's speech, said it was an "enormous mistake to refuse to co-operate with the Syrian government and its armed forces who are valiantly fighting terrorism face-to-face". He also called for the creation of a "broad anti-terror coalition" to fight IS, comparing it to the international forces that fought against Nazi Germany in World War Two. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said action to combat extremism in the Middle East should be modeled on the recent Iran nuclear agreement. He said democratic governance should wait until stability is reached in the region through dialogue and cooperation with established central governments. "And once that’s established, build democratic governance in the Middle East region," Rouhani said. Both Russia and Iran blamed the United States for the bloody conflict in Syria, claiming it to be a result of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. "Instead of the triumph of democracy, we get violence and social disorder," Putin said. "Tens of thousands of militants are fighting under the banner of the so-called Islamic State. Their ranks include former Iraqi servicemen thrown out after the invasion of their country in 2003." Despite this public political positioning, Obama and Putin met privately for a diplomatic session to discuss the potential for joint action in Syria. It's the first time the two heads of state had met in person in close to a year. The results from the meeting seem to have been fruitful, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hinted to the possibility of a deal to halt some of the worst atrocities of the Assad regime. Indeed, the UNGA addresses have not been fully defined by division—Obama's speech was the first time the leader had suggested the possibility of working with Russia and Iran over the Syrian conflict. UK Prime Minister David Cameron is also expected to soften his stance on Assad, bridging some of the divide between these two mutually exclusive visions of a peace-process. Secretary Kerry also hinted that the U.S. would accept a deal where President Bashar al-Assad will stay in power for a “transitional period,” but required that the regime halt the use of barrel bombs, which have killed at least 11,000 civilians and are in breach of international law. He also raised the possibility of localized ceasefires in Syria—something that has already happened in various areas of the country. “We have to save Syria. The world has to save Syria. This has dramatic implications for the entire region globally,” said Secretary Kerry. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said five countries—Russia, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran—were key to finding a political solution in Syria, but unless they could compromise, it would be futile to expect change on the ground. So far, the response from all five countries, with perhaps the exception of Russia and Iran, has been feeble and non-committal. Hopefully the cogs of international diplomacy can turn fast enough to find some durable compromise before the war reaches its fifth anniversary of violence.   UN Photo by Loey Felipe

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.

a global affairs media network

www.diplomaticourier.com

World Leaders Debate Future of Syria at UNGA Stage

General assembly 70th session – 28 September - AM session SG
October 1, 2015

While the historic passage of the Sustainable Development Goals last Friday highlights the potential for the United Nations General Assembly meeting to bring the world together for social progress, the past two days of political maneuvering over the civil war in Syria have proven many deep divisions still lie within the global community. On Monday, the floor of the UN General Assembly opened, and the main topic of debate was made clear immediately: ending the war in Syria. The sudden rise of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) elevated the Syrian civil war into a regional conflict, but recently the emergent refugee crisis throughout Europe has firmly established the conflict as a transnational issue—one the world leaders can no longer ignore. In their addresses to the UNGA, the United States and France insisted that Syria's President Bashar al-Assad cannot be a part of a durable peace solution in Syria, let alone in the post-conflict process. On the other side of this issue were Iran and Russia; both leaders called for the inclusion of al-Assad in tackling the common enemy of Islamic State (IS) militants. In his speech to the UNGA, U.S. President Obama said compromise among powers would be essential to ending the Syrian conflict, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives and forced four million to flee. “Lasting stability can only take hold when the people of Syria forge an agreement to live together peacefully,” he said. “The U.S. is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict. But we must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo.” “Compromise will be required to end the conflict and defeat ISIL and al-Qaeda,” but there must be a process to find a new Syrian leader who represents all of the Syrian people, Obama said. French President Francois Hollande said that, while he was prepared to work with Iran and Russia, he would explain to them "the route to a solution does not go through Bashar al-Assad". It's been reported that French authorities have launched a criminal probe against the Assad regime for alleged war crimes committed between 2011 and 2013, a new development from a preliminary war crimes inquiry opened on September 15. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not in the assembly hall for Obama's speech, said it was an "enormous mistake to refuse to co-operate with the Syrian government and its armed forces who are valiantly fighting terrorism face-to-face". He also called for the creation of a "broad anti-terror coalition" to fight IS, comparing it to the international forces that fought against Nazi Germany in World War Two. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said action to combat extremism in the Middle East should be modeled on the recent Iran nuclear agreement. He said democratic governance should wait until stability is reached in the region through dialogue and cooperation with established central governments. "And once that’s established, build democratic governance in the Middle East region," Rouhani said. Both Russia and Iran blamed the United States for the bloody conflict in Syria, claiming it to be a result of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. "Instead of the triumph of democracy, we get violence and social disorder," Putin said. "Tens of thousands of militants are fighting under the banner of the so-called Islamic State. Their ranks include former Iraqi servicemen thrown out after the invasion of their country in 2003." Despite this public political positioning, Obama and Putin met privately for a diplomatic session to discuss the potential for joint action in Syria. It's the first time the two heads of state had met in person in close to a year. The results from the meeting seem to have been fruitful, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hinted to the possibility of a deal to halt some of the worst atrocities of the Assad regime. Indeed, the UNGA addresses have not been fully defined by division—Obama's speech was the first time the leader had suggested the possibility of working with Russia and Iran over the Syrian conflict. UK Prime Minister David Cameron is also expected to soften his stance on Assad, bridging some of the divide between these two mutually exclusive visions of a peace-process. Secretary Kerry also hinted that the U.S. would accept a deal where President Bashar al-Assad will stay in power for a “transitional period,” but required that the regime halt the use of barrel bombs, which have killed at least 11,000 civilians and are in breach of international law. He also raised the possibility of localized ceasefires in Syria—something that has already happened in various areas of the country. “We have to save Syria. The world has to save Syria. This has dramatic implications for the entire region globally,” said Secretary Kerry. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said five countries—Russia, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran—were key to finding a political solution in Syria, but unless they could compromise, it would be futile to expect change on the ground. So far, the response from all five countries, with perhaps the exception of Russia and Iran, has been feeble and non-committal. Hopefully the cogs of international diplomacy can turn fast enough to find some durable compromise before the war reaches its fifth anniversary of violence.   UN Photo by Loey Felipe

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.