Russia’s military intervention in support of the Syrian government has kick-started a new round of diplomacy toward a political transition in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Federation Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu announced in Vienna on Oct. 23 that there will be a more expansive meeting on Syria, perhaps as soon as Oct. 30.

Kerry acknowledged that although the United States and its allies still disagree on the role of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a political transition, there is enough common ground, including a shared interest in a “unified Syria” and defeating the Islamic State, to initiate a new round of high-level talks.

The Geneva II conference on Syria in January 2014 faltered, in good part, on divisions between Russia and the United States and its allies over Assad’s role in a transition. The absence of Iran, which was invited and then disinvited to attend Geneva II, also contributed to the conference’s eventual failure.

Lavrov dismissed rumors that Russia has agreed on a plan for Assad’s departure after a certain period of time. “This is not true,” he told reporters Oct. 23.

The very first Week in Review in November 2012 reported that “President Assad is the leader of the Alawites, until the armed Alawites decide otherwise. Simply put, until the Syrian Alawites themselves make a change, they will back Assad. Any initiative that therefore leaves out these same Alawites of Syria, and overlooks the sectarian, local and regional dimensions of the Syrian conflict, is a recipe for diplomatic failure and more deaths among all Syrians.”

Lavrov also said that Iran, as well as Egypt, must be part of the diplomacy to resolve the Syrian crisis. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini agreed, saying, “I hope that Iran can be part of this common effort in Syria.”

Kerry, however, said, “Iran is not at the table, and there will come a time perhaps where we will talk to Iran, but we’re not at that moment at this point in time,” although he later added, “We want to be inclusive and err on the side of inclusivity rather than exclusivity” with regard to participation.

Kerry’s hesitance on Iran is puzzling, unless this is part of some necessary diplomatic choreography to be worked out over the next week. The U.S. secretary of state led negotiations between the P5+1 countries (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States plus Germany) and Iran on the historic Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told the UN General Assembly on Sept. 28 that the JCPOA is a “development which can and should be the basis of further achievements to come,” implying that a UN multilateral effort might be applied to regional crises.

Syria cannot afford another diplomatic flop, so inclusivity would seem to be the best approach when deciding who is “at the table.” Ruling out Iran, whose generals and advisers are directing and coordinating ground operations with the Syrian military, would seem a recipe for a failure.

(Source: Al-Monitor)