Tabnak – Just days after Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed on a plan to establish the so-called de-escalation zones in Syria, reservations raised by some western countries which want more details on the plan, has casted doubt on the prospect of its implementation. This is while Russia is trying to gain a formal backing from the UN for its initiative.
British newspaper the Guardian reported today that the Russian-backed plans for de-escalation zones in Syria are on hold as the US, France and the UK seek further detail on how exactly the agreement will be enforced.
On Monday, the US defense secretary, James Mattis, highlighted what he refers to as the absence of details in the agreement on enforcement. "It’s not been decided … who’s going to be ensuring they’re safe, who is signing up for it, who is specifically to be kept out of them. All these details are to be worked out and we’re engaged,” he said.
This is while, Russia presented a draft resolution in support of the memorandum on de-escalation zones in Syria to the UN Security Council, Russia’s permanent mission to the UN told TASS news agency on Sunday.
"We confirm the draft resolution was presented," press secretary of the permanent mission Fyodor Strzhizhovsky said. Voting on the document may take place at the beginning of this week according to diplomats – though it have yet taken place.
It should be noted that on May 5 and just one day after the latest round of Astana talks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres commended the memorandum on four security zones in Syria, welcoming it as a positive move toward solving the crisis in the war-torn country.
Guterres was "encouraged by the agreement in Astana, Kazakhstan, by guarantor countries Iran, Russia and Turkey to de-escalate violence in key areas in Syria,” the spokesman for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, wrote in a statement released by the UN.
Reservations raised by the US aside, the fact that the Syrian government has ruled out the possibility of a monitoring role for the UN in the de-escalation zones, has further added to the complexities.
According to the New York Times, the Syrian government said on Monday that the de-escalation zones negotiated by Russia, Iran and Turkey could not be monitored by others, including the United Nations.
"We do not accept a role for the United Nations or international forces to monitor the agreement,” Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told reporters. Should there be violations, he said, "the Syrian Army will be prepared to respond in a decisive manner.”
However, United Nations special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Monday that he was reconvening peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva on 16 May.
In a statement, de Mistura voiced hope that the agreement reached last week in Astana among Russia, Iran and Turkey to set up "de-escalation" zones in Syria will be implemented in full "thus bringing about a significant de-escalation in violence, and helping shape an environment conducive to the political intra-Syrian talks in Geneva".
The Astana process, which started in January, is being mediated by Iran, Russia and Turkey, the three guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria. Tehran and Moscow are allies of the Syrian government, while Ankara supports different militant groups.
