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Just lip service

Aug 22,2015 - Last updated at Aug 22,2015

The foreign ministers of Russia and Iran ended their much-celebrated meeting in Moscow last week with a broad agreement on practically everything, but especially on the Syrian file.

Notably, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Jawad Zarif agreed that only the Syrian people must decide their fate and the future of their country, and warned, therefore, against any interference in the internal affairs of the country.

This united position on Syria, torn apart by five years of conflict, is worthy some comments.

For a starter, neither foreign minister found it in his heart to condemn the indiscriminate killings of innocent people on the battlefield of Syria.

Not even last week’s massacre in the Syrian city of Douma, perpetrated by Syrian warplanes, caught their attention, even though over 100 civilians, mostly children and women, were killed by the indiscriminate bombing of the city’s marketplace.

Neither Russia nor Iran ever condemned the killing of innocent civilians in Syria by any side.

The 2013 killings of more than 1,000 Syrian civilians by chemical weapons failed to attract much attention in either country; the only thing they had to say was that the identity of the culprits remained an open question.

The two foreign ministers say that they have no tolerance for any foreign interference in Syria at a time Syria is full of Iranian military advisers and Russian military hardware.

The best part about the two ministers’ joint communiqué was their call to let the Syrians decide themselves their fate and future.

Who is preventing that from happening?

Neither minister bothered to call for free elections in Syria under international supervision. So much for wanting the Syrians to exercise self-determination free from any outside pressure.

There is still hope that Tehran and Moscow may help end the Syrian conflict since they are major regional and international powers.

 

By brokering a peace deal that is fair on the foundation of the free will of the Syrian people, Tehran and Moscow can still win the hearts and admiration of the Middle East and beyond. They only need to change course, but so far, neither capital has done so.

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