Following talks with former UN chief and current Special Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has endorsed Annan’s policy, and has promised all support possible to kickstart negotiations in Syria.
Medvedev declared Annan’s mission critical, calling it a “last chance for Syria to avoid a protracted bloody civil war.” Arguably Syria is already in a state of civil war, but it could well get worse as time goes on.
Annan’s visit to Russia went smoothly, and he is expected to arrive in China early Monday to secure a similar agreement from the Chinese government. The support will be a big step toward convincing the Assad regime to agree to the talks.
But getting Assad to endorse the talks and getting the rebels on board are two very different things. Though Western nations at the UN endorsed Annan, many of them are still pushing for regime change to the exclusion of any negotiated settlement, and the bigger rebel factions have rejected the idea of talks on general principle, assuming that they can count on Western support for the war.
What exactly is Assad supposed to do? As Ditz stated, the "rebels" aren't interested in "talks." The Russians and Chinese should endorse Annan's plan, but it's doomed to fail since the rebels and foreign agitators won't stop their attacks insode the country. I don't think the Russians will endorse regime change of any sort since they'll likely end up the losers, as they'll likely lose their naval base and their lucrative arms contract with Syria. Why doesn't Annon meet with these "rebel leaders' and get them to agree to talks instead?
All of this is merely a checking-off exercise on the agenda to intervention. The FedGov and its various minions have long determined that they will overthrow Assad; what that is being done now is to create a sham veneer of legitimacy for what will come. Medvedev, to be blunt, is a blithering idiot for not calling the "narrative" for what it is. Russia has much to lose in the upcoming attack on Syria.
I have read many excellent blogs on Russia from former diplomats and people who know it like the back of their hand. They all say that despite the perception in the west that Medvedev is "Putin's puppet" this is far from the truth. Just looking at foreign policy alone, one can clearly tell that Medvedev has gone for things that Putin would've rejected. The additional sanctions on Iran and the Libya resolution last year are two of the things Putin would've likely rejected. Medvedev's support of the Libya resolution last year caused much gnashing of teeth in Russia, and led many to believe that Medvedev is wet behind the years for giving in to the west and getting nothing in return. He has abeen far more concillatory to the west than Putin ever was.