Thursday, December 14, 2017

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 14, 2017

Staffan de Mistura, Special Envoy for Syria. United Nations

Patrick Wintour, The Guardian: 'Golden opportunity' lost as Syrian peace talks collapse

UN special envoy blasts Bashar al-Assad, who is ‘unwilling to meet anyone with a different opinion’

UN-sponsored talks in Geneva designed to end the Syrian civil war have collapsed, with a deflated special envoy Staffan de Mistura admitting “a golden big opportunity” had been missed.

He largely blamed the Syria government delegation for setting preconditions on holding direct talks with the opposition, saying it would be difficult for any future talks sponsor to make progress “if the government is not willing to meet anyone who has a different opinion”.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 14, 2017

Years of fruitless efforts to end Syrian conflict -- AFP

Putin Declared 'Mission Accomplished' in Syria. What's Next? -- Nikolas K. Gvosdev. National Interest

Turkey switches to full defiance of US, continues Putin courtship -- M.K. Bhadrakumar, Asia Times

Iran's weak hand exposed by ongoing developments in Yemen -- Amir Basiri, Washington Examiner

Can Diplomacy Work with North Korea? -- Georgy Toloraya, 38 North

Is there a way to avoid war on the Korean Peninsula? -- Alexander Gillespie, Al Jazeera

The Dangerous Appetites of North Korea's Dictator -- Matthew Little, The Epoch Times

China is furious and Australia should expect more backlash after questioning its influence -- Ryan Manuel, ABC News Online

Will those presiding over the killings of Rohingya children ever face justice? -- National editorial

Political Islam, Intolerance, and the IS Threat in Indonesia -- Bobby Anderson, RCD/The Conversation

Australian universities accused of sharing military technology with China -- Tom Iggulden, ABC News Online

EU leaders' summit: What's on the agenda? -- David Martin, DW

With Russia, Try Try Again -- Michael Nordeen, RCD

The scars of Catalonia -- Paul Preston, New Statesman

Can the PRI Escape Peña Nieto's Legacy in Election? -- Paul Imison, WP Review

2017 Was Bad for Facebook. 2018 Will Be Worse. -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

1 comment:

B.Poster said...

"UN special envoy blasts Bashar al-Assad..." when I read that, I was thinking, as to why these talks fail, "you can stop right there." The I read that he is "unwilling to meet anyone with a different opinion." This further reinforces why these talks collapsed.

Last time I checked the Russian, Iranian, Assad alliance either won the Syrian Civil War or have such a commanding lead that they may as well be declared the victor. For any talks to have a chance at succeeding, they will need to be approached from this angle. Assad and his allies are the strongest forces in Syria right now will be for the foreseeable future. When we recognize reality, good outcomes are possible.