Alwaght- The recent Paris terror attacks have made French officials to, at least implicitly, retreat from their preconditions about Syria, stretching their hands for cooperation with Moscow, the Damascus government’s key ally, as they begun to talk about collaboration with the Syrian government’s forces in the fight against terrorism.
On Friday, France drafted a resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for fighting the terror group ISIS. The goal was to encourage different countries to react against terrorism and coordinate some attempts to remove the safe havens the terror group has made their own in both Syria and Iraq. Paris has proposed the resolution following last week’s Paris terrorist attacks in which 129 people were killed and dozens were wounded.
The Russian media have described the French move, as an effort by Paris to start a partnership with Moscow concerning the crisis in Syria. Pointing to the diplomatic sources which said that “the French held talks with the Russians and the Chinese before proposing the resolution”, the Russian news agency Sputnik has noted that such a resolution would be a win for the Russian President Vladimir Putin who had taken an extended role in the Middle East and emerged as leading player in the fight against ISIS.
Paris shifts policy
The political analysts believe that after Paris terrorist attacks France has turned to Russia for collaboration over countering ISIS. While the two countries are insisting on battling the terror groups, on the other hand, they disagree, on the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s role in Syria’s future. Moscow along with Tehran emphasize that al-Assad must be allowed to take part in any future presidential elections in the country and it is the Syrian people who are eligible to have their say on him through their votes. However, Paris support the Saudi Arabia's approach which opposes al-Assad’s participation in any future elections. But, it seems that France, by highlighting the counter-ISIS priority, is creeping toward Moscow’s firmly-held standings, as some of former French officials have expressed the need for closer ties with Russia. Russia, unlike France, was pursuing a consistent foreign policy in Syria, while Laurent Fabius, who had recently asked Moscow to amend its approach on Syria, must change the country’s strategy in Syria, said François Fillon, the former Prime Minister of France, talking in an interview with a radio station. Fillon added "For two days I've listened to the French government saying that Paris terrorist acts changed Russia, It is not the Russians who changed their stance [on Syria], it's us." he said, adding that Moscow was consistent in its policies from day one.
By bringing the citizens under terror attacks, ISIS has done something that none of the diplomats had managed to do, namely drawing the United States, Russia and France close to each other in a possible coalition against the terrorist group, said the Washington Post. But the coalition, Washington Post added, still remains in theoretical stages.
Operational cooperation
It seems that France's closeness to Russia from now has taken operational dimensions as on Thursday the Russian and French chiefs of staff have met to coordinate military operations in Syria. “A French naval group, consist of an aircraft carrier and frigates, will soon enter your area of operation. It is necessary to establish direct contact with the French and work with them as allies”, said President Putin, addressing the captain of the Russian cruiser Moskva, which is stationed for operation in the Mediterranean Sea. The French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle has set off toward the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Thursday, carrying 26 strike jets. Meanwhile, the French President Francois Holland will next week visit the US to meet his counterpart President Barak Obama, following his trip by going to Russia to negotiate with the Russian leaders about battling the ISIS group. Paris is talking about the necessity of cooperation with Moscow while the Russian authorities still reject the preconditions which demand removal of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power. Refusing the push by some of countries specifically the US for al-Assad to step down, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that setting a precondition of government change to fight terrorism was a symbol of criminality, as it would cause the terror actions to continue in Syria. Talking to the journalists, Zakharova added that tying the Syrian president’s political fate to starting the battle on ISIS was a criminal approach which at the end of the road has led to suffering of ordinary people like the French in the Paris terrorist attacks.
Paris efforts to get close to Moscow, while the Russians are rejecting the Western preconditions concerning Syria’s al-Assad, are indicating the West’s implicit retreat from its demands.
