The recent call by the United States and Russia for an international conference on Syria offers the best chance for a peaceful resolution to the escalating conflict that has claimed more than 70,000 lives and turned an estimated 1.4 million Syrians into refugees.
The peace talks, proposed May 7 by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, face significant obstacles from the recalcitrant Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad and a fragmented opposition.
Nonetheless, the U.S.-Russian diplomatic Hail Mary could finally begin to shift the deadly dynamics of the 2-year-old Syrian conflict from deepening militarization toward a political solution designed to end the horrific violence.
To read the full op-ed, click here.
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This op-ed first appeared at CNN.com on May 10, 2013
Photo by FreedomHouse via Flickr
Middle East, North Africa
The recent call by the United States and Russia for an international conference on Syria offers the best chance for a peaceful resolution to the escalating conflict that has claimed more than 70,000 lives and turned an estimated 1.4 million Syrians into refugees.
The peace talks, proposed May 7 by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, face significant obstacles from the recalcitrant Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad and a fragmented opposition.
Nonetheless, the U.S.-Russian diplomatic Hail Mary could finally begin to shift the deadly dynamics of the 2-year-old Syrian conflict from deepening militarization toward a political solution designed to end the horrific violence.
To read the full op-ed, click here.
___________________________________
This op-ed first appeared at CNN.com on May 10, 2013
Photo by FreedomHouse via Flickr
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