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Russia Insists on Holding Sochi Summit in Parallel with Geneva Talks on Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)
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Russia Insists on Holding Sochi Summit in Parallel with Geneva Talks on Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)

Moscow is insisting on holding the Syrian National Dialogue Conference in Sochi, which is set to kick off on December 2, a few days after the launching of the Geneva meeting on Syria upon the initiative of UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
 
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov met with the international envoy in Geneva to discuss the role of the United Nations in the “Sochi Conference”, which Moscow wants to hold with the participation of around 1,300 participants to discuss “political reform” in Syria and the formation of a committee to amend or draft the constitution, paving the way for the elections.
 
According to information available to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Russian Defense Ministry has started contacts with Syria to invite, to Sochi early next month, about 1,000 representatives of the “de-escalation zones” agreements, in addition to political forces and civil society groups, as well as hundreds of participants from other countries.
 
While Tehran, Damascus and Washington have not welcomed the holding of the Russian conference, Ankara has set a condition represented by its rejection to invite the Democratic National Union of Kurdistan to the conference, in order to encourage Ankara’s allies in the Syrian opposition to attend the talks, as reported by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi a few days ago.
 
The Sochi conference was present in the meetings of Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Hassan Ansari in Moscow and his talks in Damascus with the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem.
 
It will also be discussed during the upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of countries sponsoring the Astana talks – Russia, Turkey and Iran – which will be held in the few coming days.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.