TEHRAN - Nader Entessar, an expert on the Middle East, is not “optimistic” about the meeting between the foreign ministers of the U.S., Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia on Syria as Riyadh, Ankara and Washington insist on removing President Bashar al-Assad from power “as the end game for any negotiations.”

“I am not optimistic about the outcome of the Vienna meeting because Saudi Arabia, and to a lesser extent Turkey and the United States, remain adamant in removing Assad from power as the end game for any negotiations,” Entessar tells the Tehran Times.
According to the Globe and Mail, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey remained deeply divided over the future of the Syrian president in the meeting.
The top diplomats from the four countries agreed to meet again in an expanded format with representatives from other nations next week.
After the meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters that was “convinced, … that today’s meeting was constructive and productive and succeeded in surfacing some ideas, which I am not going to share today, but which I hope have a possibility of changing the dynamic.”
The Syrian president told Russian lawmakers in Damascus on Sunday that he was ready to take part in presidential elections if the Syrian people support the idea, RIA news agency reported, citing a lawmaker at the meeting.
Entessar who teaches at South Alabama University also says Assad’s trip to Moscow “was partially undertaken to thank Russia for its robust military involvement in attacking Daesh and other extremist groups in Syria.”
Following is the text of the interview:

Q: What was the message of Beshar al-Assad’s visit to Moscow?

A: Assad’s trip to Moscow and his meeting with Russia’s president was partially undertaken to thank Russia for its robust military involvement in attacking Daesh and other extremist groups in Syria. The trip was also designed to coordinate Russian-Syrian position on any future peace talks.

Q: Was there any relationship between the visit of Assad to Moscow and Russia’s aerial attacks against militants and victories by the Syrian army on the ground?

A: Yes. Russia’s aerial attacks on Daesh’s positions inside Syria have been largely responsible for allowing Syrian ground forces to wrest some territories that had come under Daesh’s control. Undoubtedly, Assad’s trip to Moscow and his high-level meeting with Russian President Putin was intended to highlight the importance of the combined Russian-Syrian military operations.

Q: After Assad’s visit to Moscow the foreign ministers of Russia, U.S., Turkey and Saudi Arabia met in Vienna on Oct. 23 to discuss the Syria crisis. Can it be inferred that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov put forward a solution to crisis at the meeting?

A: Since Syria was not a participant at the October 23rd meeting in Vienna, Assad’s trip to Moscow was partly undertaken to discuss Russia’s proposals at the October 23rd Vienna meeting. I am not optimistic about the outcome of the Vienna meeting because Saudi Arabia, and to a lesser extent Turkey and the United States, remain adamant in removing Assad from power as the end game for any negotiations