‘Assad regime does not want a solution to Syria crisis’ - opposition

The United Nations must call for an international conference on Syria to find an end to the decade-long conflict that has killed more than 350,000 people, lost their lives and displaced millions more, a senior Syrian opposition leader said on Friday.

Such a conference will bring key players including the Syrian regime of Bashar al Assad to the table as previous attempts to find a solution to the crisis have largely stalled, said Badr Jamous, head of the opposition-led Syrian Negotiations Committee.

“It’s not the US or Russia, which is the problem. But it’s the Syrian government, which does not want to solve the problem,” he said, speaking at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum 2024 (ADF).

Jamous said he was sure the Assad regime would not take part in an international hurdle because it was not interested in settling the issue.

The Syrian crisis has tested the limits of international diplomacy with Türkiye, Russia, the US, Saudi Arabia and the UN trying to find a solution through different forums.

Last year, the Arab League extended a significant olive branch to Assad when it readmitted Syria into the grouping of Arab countries. Syria was ousted from the Arab League after regime forces launched a brutal crackdown against the civilians following the start of 2011 pro-democracy protests.

It was hoped that Assad’s re-entry into the Arab League will lead to resolution of contentious issues such as the safe return of dissidents who have escaped to other countries.

But little headway has been made since with the UN warning that it is becoming difficult to convince donors to spare funds for the upkeep of refugees as the world attention shifts to conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

“We were not part of those negotiations,” said Jamous about the Arab League decision.

“Until now we haven’t seen any result of this normalisation and this was our opinion from the beginning. We told these countries you are making normalisation for free. We haven’t seen any result because the regime is refusing to see any movement on this,” he told TRT World on the sideline of the ADF event.

A frustrated UN

Geir O. Pedersen, the UN’s Special Envoy on Syria, said there was hope for peace in the air after the Syrian regime cooperated with international aid agencies following the 2023 earthquake that hit Türkiye and Syria.

The Assad regime had allowed passages of vital aid to opposition-held areas. Soon after, the Arab League formally admitted Syria back into its fold.

But nothing happened after the Arab rapprochement, said Pedersen.

“I am extremely frustrated because we are not making any progress,” he told the ADF panel discussion on Syria.

“We need to remember that half the population of Syria has been displaced and they haven’t been able to come back.”

While there are concerns about the spillover of Israel’s war on Gaza into Syria, the real issue lies in the continuing tension between Syrian government forces and the opposition in places like Idlib, the Syrian northwestern region.

But there’s still hope that negotiation can help find lasting peace as evident from the Russia-Türkiye ceasefire deal in March 2020, he said.

“Before that deal, the frontline was changing every three weeks. The frontline hasn’t changed since March 2020.”

The leadership vacuum that the years-long civil war created allowed groups like Daesh to extend their influence - something that can happen again if a diplomatic solution is not found for the crisis, said Muhannad Hadi, the UN Regional Human Coordinator for the Syria Crisis.

“The consequence of that will be felt in the region and world,” he warned.

More than 5 million Syrians are living as refugees in other countries - some 3.7 million in Türkiye alone, because of the civil war and economic deprivation that it had created.

Millions of people are dependent on international funding, which has been drying up, said Hadi.

“We have knocked on every door, asking for donations. Honestly, it’s becoming difficult to get the attention of the donors.”