Western policy on Syria is failing on a monumental scale
If Russia and Iran have been culpable, there has been a catastrophic failure of diplomacy by the west and its allies. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon's call for a ceasefire and an arms embargo is a welcome challenge to the west's floundering policy. Britain, France and the US, as well as their allies, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, need to recognise that neither side is going to win the civil war engulfing Syria. Nor will the Turkey's call for western military intervention to halt the humanitarian disaster resolve the crisis. A political solution has to be the priority.
The Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, is reported to be willing to consider the proposal by the UN-Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, for a ceasefire for the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday on 26 October.… Seguir leyendo »