Continuation of Assad as the president has been at the root of the four year old Syrian crisis While USA would like to have Assad sacked from the office, Russia is opposed to it. It is unfortunate that Syria and Syrian people have to suffer for the US hegemonic policy and politics. Even while the ground for the bilateral talks between Putin and Obama were being prepared, Obama and the French president, Francois Hollande favoured Assad stepping down for launching campaign against Islamic State, which was outright rejected by Putin. He however added that Assad would be a willing participant in that change.

It is most unfortunate that the Syrian crisis cost the lives of over 250,000 Syrians and driven more than 11 million from their homes. It is shocking that the number of children affected by the crisis since March 2013 has more than doubled from 2.3 million to over 5.5 million. The number of children displaced inside Syria has also tripled from 920,000 to almost 3 million. The number of child refugees has quadrupled from 260,000 to more than 1.2 million, with 425,000 of those under the age of five. Over 3.8 million Syrians have left their country since March 2011, the beginning of the turmoil. More than 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced, according to the United Nations.

Russia has already stored its weapons in Latakia, 85 km away from the Tartus naval base; the only base outside the erstwhile Soviet Union region. In case the Assad regime collapses, Moscow would not hesitate to move troops further. Syria has long been a pillar of Moscow’s West Asia policy. Its aggressive diplomacy was instrumental in thwarting U.S. air strikes on Syria in 2013.

The Russian President accused US and its western allies for their inaction in ending war in Syria and termed the move for isolation of Assad as “enormous mistake”. Putin, delivering his first address at the United Nations in a decade, took direct aim at America’s record in Syria, in the Middle East and Libya and vowed to seek a Security Council resolution to forge an anti-terror coalition that he likened to the forces that joined to fight Hitler. But this move of Putin is viewed with suspicion by Barack Obama administration. The US held that Russia has been indulging in double game and on the plea of helping Assad has been establishing an airfield in the Mediterranean coast.

In the wake of terrorist activities in Syria, accusations are being levelled against America for promoting the ISIS and drowning the entire region in a state of uncertainty. The observers feel that the violent clashes were unleashed as the part of the strategy to accomplish The Brookings Institute's plan for splitting Syria as soon as possible. Ironically instead of adopting an objective view the Secretary of State John F. Kerry warned the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of actions that “could further escalate the conflict . . . and risk confrontation” with the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State.

It is a known secret that the USA has not been feeling comfortable with Assad. The US nurses the feeling that Assad tacitly aided and abetted Saddam Hussein. To dethrone Assad the US encouraged militants, as it had done in Afghanistan, to take to rebel activities. There is no denying the fact that America has fathered the terrorists and terrorism in Syria.The terrorist activities gradually started posing problems for Russia.

America has been following inconsistent policy on Syrian crisis. It was reluctant to accept the forces which were not willing to endorse its motto of pushing Assad out of power. While it commended Peshmerga forces for their efforts in the war against the IS, it condemned the Free Syrian Army (FSA) that has contributed substantially in fighting terrorism.Ironically the American administration never acknowledged their contribution. Instead it opted for the Kurds in the international alliance against the IS as ground forces, providing them with weapons and the necessary expertise for the battleground.

The Obama administration agreed to talk to Putin only for the reason that it perceived that Assad was on his way out. IN fact it was in July president Obama had confidently declared, “Assad regime is losing a grip over greater and greater swaths of territory” and “that offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them.”

The spontaneous uprisings that started in March 2011 went on as peaceful protests for six months despite the violent response of the regime. But why did the regime respond violently in the face of unarmed protestors? In the battle of supremacy, the worst sufferers have been Syria and Syrians. The people have almost been broken despite their courage, tenacity and their integrity.

Since 2002, the Assad regime has facilitated the movement through its territory of al Qaeda fighters bound for Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. It has allowed these insurgents to train in Syria and has provided sanctuary to al Qaeda-affiliated killers of Americans. In the lead up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, when it became clear that Syria was helping shuttle Islamist insurgents to Iraq, Washington warned Damascus of the folly of this policy. U.S. nursed the view that Assad was in leaguer with Saddam.

The US State Department simply complicated the scenario by recognising the Council of the Syrian opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and provide it with the status of a foreign mission. The US government has also issued a request to Congress for the approval of a 27 million dollar supply of “non-lethal aid”. Moreover Obama met with the head of the Syrian National Coalition Forces Ahmad Jarba during his visit to Washington, during which the Syrian delegation was officially recognized as a foreign diplomatic mission.

Syria has slammed the US and some European countries for their duplicity after the countries in a letter called on the United Nations to exert more pressure on Damascus to stop airstrikes on militant positions in Aleppo. Syrian government forces backed by fighters from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah have managed to drive militants out of an area in Qalamoun region, along the border of Lebanon.

What has indeed been ironic is the Obama administration instead of appreciating the Russian initiative, described Putin’s efforts as gangsterism. Russian president rejected the allegations saying: ‘How can I be a gangster if I worked for the KGB?’ Vladimir Putin has strengthened his support for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, dismissing evidence of widespread atrocities as enemy “propaganda”. The USA would welcome a Russian role in the fight against Isis but insists that Assad’s departure from power has to be part of the solution. However Putin made clear; “there is no other solution to the Syrian crisis than strengthening the effective government structures and rendering them help in fighting terrorism.

Putin laid bare how Isis had drawn its strength from former Iraqi servicemen made jobless by the US-led invasion in 2003 and then by the western bombing of Libya that led to the destruction of the Gaddafi regime in Tripoli. He alleged that the religious extremists were sent deliberately into Syria to destroy the secular, anti-western government in Damascus. (IPA Service)