US showing renewed commitment to ending crisis in Syria, opposition says

Nasr Hariri, the head of the umbrella Syrian Negotiations Commission, said they have seen a positive renewed interest from the US
Nasr Hariri, the head of the umbrella Syrian Negotiations Commission, said they have seen a positive renewed interest from the US Credit: Reuters

The US is taking a renewed interest in a political solution to the seven-year civil war in Syria, the head of the opposition said yesterday, as it called for increased pressure on Russia and the regime.

The administration held a meeting last week with the UK, France, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, to discuss Syria, in which it said it would be withdrawing its support for talks backed by Russia, Iran and Turkey, an adviser to the Syrian opposition told the Telegraph.  

The US is understood to want to avoid Russia taking the initiative over Geneva with parallel talks hosted in the Russian city of Sochi which are also set to take place in the coming weeks. 

The meeting was seen by western diplomats as the first concrete sign of a renewed commitment to Syria, after the US was accused of abandoning the opposition under the Obama administration and focusing only on the fight against Isil. 

“We felt that there is something new. They want to take the leadership, the initiative,” the head of opposition umbrella group the Syrian Negotiations Commission, Nasr al-Hariri, told a parliamentary briefing in London yesterday.

Aid agencies have raised the alarm over the bombardment of Idlib in recent weeks 
Aid agencies have raised the alarm over the bombardment of Idlib in recent weeks  Credit: Anadolu Agency

Trump administration officials, including White House national security adviser HR McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have also held meetings with the opposition in recent weeks.

Mr Tillerson is expected to make a speech focusing on the administration’s new approach to Syria in the coming days.

The Syrian opposition is in Europe this week to appeal to leaders for their help in galvanising this momentum, and for the US and Europe to increase pressure on Russia and the regime to negotiate an end to the war.

“We need the UK to work with its allies, particularly the US, to work together a package of measures, aimed at pressuring the regime to negotiate,” Mr Hariri said.

A Syrian man and a woman mourn over the body of one of their children (R) in the rebel-held besieged town of Douma following air strikes on the eastern Ghouta region
A Syrian man and a woman mourn over the body of one of their children in the rebel-held besieged town of Douma following air strikes on the eastern Ghouta region Credit: AFP

The opposition is calling for more sanctions on the regime, and for an increased military presence to bring leverage against Russia and the regime.  

It has already secured a commitment from the EU and the UK that no funds for reconstruction will be committed until there is movement on a political solution.

Mr Hariri said a political settlement was the only way to end the conflict in Syria and warned of an unfolding humanitarian crises in Idlib and eastern Ghouta, which have come under fierce bombardment in recent weeks. 

He also expressed concerns over US plans to help support a 30,000-strong force dominated by the mainly Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), warning that it could lead to Syria's partition.

"What are the benefits of establishing such an army?" he asked.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday called on Nato to intervene over the plans. 

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