If Russia, US Unite Efforts on Syria, the Defeat of Daesh Is Not Far Off

Commenting on the remarks of Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia has sent an invitation to the US to take part in the next round of Syrian peace talks in Astana, Russian political analyst Igor Shatrov told Radio Sputnik that if Moscow and Washington unite their efforts, the defeat of Daesh will follow.

Moscow is preparing another round of peace talks between the Syrian government and representatives of the country's armed opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian television channel NTV on Sunday.

The next round of Astana talks is scheduled for February 15-16.

Russia has sent an invitation to the United States to take part in the next Astana meeting to resolve the Syrian conflict.

"You are right, the US was represented at the first meeting as an observer state. We invited it to send its representatives to participate in the following meetings, as soon as they form their Middle East Syrian team," Russia's top diplomat said in an interview.

Moscow, Tehran and Ankara have mostly agreed on the details of the trilateral mechanism to monitor the ceasefire in Syria. This mechanism will be implemented soon, the Russian foreign minister says.

"The second meeting in Astana ended recently. The meeting took place without the Syrian parties [to the conflict]; only with the participation of Russia, Turkey and Iran, where the details of the mechanism for monitoring the Syria ceasefire details have been mostly agreed, they will come into effect soon and will be implemented," Lavrov said.

Commenting on the remarks of the Foreign Minister, political analyst and deputy director of National Institute for Modern Ideology Development Igor Shatrov told Radio Sputnik that the joint efforts of Russia and the US will bring certain changes to the settlement of the Syrian conflict.

"Of course, Russia is counting on the new US administration to seriously join the negotiation process, both in the Astana and Geneva talks," he told Sputnik.

"The unified efforts of Moscow and Washington will allow for the achievement of serious changes in the Middle East and in Syria in particular," he said.

"If the joint efforts of the international community finally lead to the setup of a fully functional coalition, the defeat of Daesh will be not far off," he said.

However, he further noted that the position of the Middle Eastern monarchies, especially Saudi Arabia, should also be taken into account.

"Without the termination of financing from Saudi Arabia, it will be impossible to stop this bloodshed in Syria and Iraq," he told Sputnik.

"I think it is a topic for serious discussion between the US and Saudi Arabia. They will now face off on a different playing field, on the oil market. And it is part of a larger game, which President Trump is only starting to play," the political analyst suggested.

He further explained that this "game" is aimed at easing the US oil dependency on the Middle East and at drawing the US out of this large military game, which is not of primary importance to Trump and which he does not want to get involved in.

He also noted that Russia is also working with Saudi Arabia and thus we might soon see Riyadh invited into the Syrian settlement process.

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