Alwaght- The last effort to make reconciliation between the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition groups was Geneva III peace conference the outcome of which was a US and Russia-sponsored ceasefire during which no military moves were made by the warring sides.
The truce mostly included the moderate groups, namely moderate opposition and so the terrorist groups ISIS and al-Nusra Front were not parties to deal for cessation of hostility. This comes while it is clear for everybody that the moderate Syrian opposition are not that much influential in the battlefield. Having in mind that the core group of moderate opposition of Syria is the Free Syrian Army, it so far failed to have a groundbreaking impact on the course of the frontline developments and clashes in Syria. In fact, it is al-Nusra Front and ISIS that with a backing from Turkey and Saudi-led Arab camp managed to seize control of a majority of Aleppo in north as well as other regions of Syria, using the force, the only logic they have at their disposal.
Meanwhile, holding the fire by the Syrian government’s forces has facilitated restoring power of the anti-Assad forces, on top of them al-Nusra Front and its several offshoots. The result was seizing back Khan Touman and other places in Aleppo by terrorists. The fresh advances were backed by Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Due to change of balance of power in favor of the Syrian government’s forces as well as the Kurdish units, Ankara in a quick move reopened its borders to allow more opposition and terrorist fighters into the country to join al-Nusra. It also doubled its logistic and military backup for them.
This took place while Russia, the key player of the Syrian conflict and developments, had already decreased its forces operating in Syria, as it scaled down its airstrikes on the terrorists’ positions. In fact, Turkey and Saudi Arabia seized the opportunity to boost strength of terrorist groups all to make things go against the Resistance Axis.
Following the developments, Iran, Russia, and the Syrian government held discussions, working out a plan to prompt anti-terror operations mostly in Aleppo. Recent Tehran meeting and Iran's moves to re-strengthen the resistant forces resulted in more stabilized conditions in Syria.
On the other side, it appears that Moscow, after terrorists’ re-energized attacks to capture different Syrian regions especially in Aleppo, understood that it made mistakes militarily and politically to allow the terrorists to rebuild their powers in Syria. So, now the talk is about redeployment of Russian ground troops and making joint and coordinated decisions with Iran and Hezbollah to bolster moves against the terrorists and their backers.
Actually, the Russians’ viewing of Syria as the sole strategic ally in West Asia in recent years especially after eruption of the Syrian crisis has been special. To keep their traditional influence in the region and their military base in Mediterranean Sea, the Russians were in desperate need to boost relations with Damascus. They, in fact, are not ready to make more concessions to the West and the regional anti-Syrian camp. They believe that any retreatment from their strong support for Damascus would result in repeated Libya and Iraq scenario in Syria.
Now that after failed international attempts to make peace and compromise in Syria, Moscow resorted to force to save the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In fact, Moscow overtly shares the idea with Tehran on the necessity to allow Syrian people to decide on the political fate of President Assad.
Therefore, after renewed terrorist assaults spearheaded by al-Nusra Front to fully capture Aleppo, the Russian foreign minister visited Damascus, aiming to make it clear that the Russians are still firmly standing on their positions in the face of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and some Western countries— a move carrying positive signals for the Resistance camp.
