Syria’s chaos everywhere

Moscow seems to be sending confusing signals about its objectives in Syria.

On Saturday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told Russian Rossiya TV channel that Russia operates militarily in Syria not to keep President Bashar Assad in power, but to defeat Daesh.

If indeed the goal is to get rid of Daesh, why have most of the Russian bombs fallen on opposition forces targets, and not on those of Daesh?

The Russian defence ministry Saturday said in a statement that its air force made 36 sorties in Syria, hitting 49 Daesh targets in Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Damascus and Aleppo in 24 hours.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, announced that military coalition forces carried out two air strikes against Daesh targets in Syria and 19 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with the Iraqi government.

US President Barack Obama said on Friday there was no meeting of the minds with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the continuing rule of Assad, and that the Syrian civil war could only end with a political solution leading to a new inclusive government.

Not too long ago, Russia would only accept Assad at the helm of the country; later, it toned down its strong support for the Syrian president, saying that “it does not really matter who will be at the helm. We don’t want ISIS [Daesh] to run Syria, do we? It should be a civilised and legitimate government”.

The only agreement the US and Russia seem to have reached in principle is to avoid each other’s aircraft as they conduct air campaigns in Syria.

According to Obama, a ground offensive in Syria would not work because Russia is “trying to support a regime that in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of the Syrian people is not legitimate”.

While Russia says that “at the moment, we operate on the premise that Assad is the legitimate president”, it does not seem to cling to the notion that he will still be the leader in a future Syria.

“It is up to the Syrian people to decide who will be the head of Syria,” said Medvedev.

A stated clear position from all sides involved in the Syrian conflict might go a long way towards settling it.

Vacillating stands are only taken advantage of by the warring parties with, as a result, prolonged bloodshed and destruction that will make a political solution even more difficult to reach.