MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He added that cooperation between Turkey, Russia and Iran on Syria was a significant step toward conflict resolution and may prevent deterioration of further escalation of the war in the Arab republic from deteriorating into direct regional conflict with other countries.
"After all these years into the Syrian crisis, we can say that this conflict is turned into a true proxy regional war. We do not talk about a pure Syrian civil war any longer. We witness how different countries got involved into this conflict, namely Turkey, the United States, which sent troops to Syria; we can also talk about the Saudis’ and the Gulf States’ interference into the conflict," Tarek Ahmad, who is also a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), said.
The statement is symbolic as March 15 marks the sixth anniversary of the beginning of the military conflict in Syria. On March 15 and 16, 2011, the Syrian authorities suppressed demonstrations directed against President Bashar Assad in Damascus. Since then the country has been dragged through constant internal strife, pitting suffering from the civil war between government troops against numerous oppositional groups and terrorist organizations.
Ahmad underscored that coordination between Washington and Moscow was crucial as those countries are the main two agents proxy-fighting in Syria noting that "Moscow had legal grounds for combat missions in Syria unlike the US-led anti-IS [anti-Daesh] coalition."
The politician elaborated that he is not optimistic about immediate coordination between the two states due to the uncertainty as to US President Donald Trump’s Syria policy.
"I cannot find any indicators of the real American policy towards Syria, it is not yet clear what the administration wants to do and what could be the US plan for the region," Ahmad said.
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that the administration of President Donald Trump does not exclude from consideration cooperating with Moscow in combating the outlawed Daesh terror group in Syria.
Also on Monday, US media reported Trump's national security team was no longer considering any further collaboration with Russia against Daesh in Syria, citing former officials and current advisers familiar with the Defense Department plan.
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