(Ynet News) Moshe Ya'alon - The Syria ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Monday, may only be implemented in the form of local and temporary truces in certain areas. There is no chance, however, for a full ceasefire and an end to the serious bloodshed. The opposing interests between the external elements involved in the fighting in Syria make it impossible for the war to be decided or for any political settlement to stop the bloodshed. The U.S. is interested in seeing a moderate Sunni Syrian regime leaning towards the West, but has so far hesitated to put any significant effort into that. Russia sees the importance of the continued existence of an Alawite regime (with or without Assad). Turkey would like to see a Sunni regime in Damascus, but is busy fighting the Kurds. The reason Erdogan's regime supported ISIS for such a long time and allowed jihadists from around the world to flock to Syria was so that they would join the war and strike the Kurds. The pretension of different elements to reunite Syria is unrealistic. Syria is divided into demographically-based cantons, and I believe it will remain that way for many years to come. Lt. Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon is a former Israeli defense minister.
2016-09-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive