By Guido Lanfranchi.
U.S. Special Representative for Syria, Ambassador James Jeffrey, clarified that the United States is ready to remain engaged in Syria. In such engagement, the U.S. will step up efforts to defeat ISIS and to reach a political solution to Syria’s crisis.
In November 2018, amost one year after the Helsinki meeting between U.S. and Russian presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the approach of the United States to Syria has remained consistent: the U.S. is willing to stay “in the long run in Syria to try to come up with a solution that meets the needs of the Syrian people, of the region, and of the international community” – the U.S. Special Representative for Syria stressed in an exchange with the press.
USSR Ambassador James Jeffrey outlined the two main goals of the U.S. approach, namely defeating ISIS in Syria, and reaching a political solution to the country’s seven years long crisis. Concerning the fight against ISIS, the U.S. is currently engaged in operations aimed at crushing the last elements of the Islamic States along the Euphrates.
As for the political resolution of Syria’s civil war, Ambassador Jeffrey underlined the importance of de-escalating the fight, as well as ensuring that a new constitution will be drafted, eventually leading to a credible electoral process. In this regard, the U.S. Special Representative welcomed the recent Idlib ceasefire, as well as the announcement on the creation of a long-awaited constitutional committee before the end of the year.
Ambassador Jeffrey also reiterated the strong U.S. support to efforts led by the United Nations and its Special Envoy Mr. Staffan de Misturain steering the peace process. Moreover, addressing questions from the press on the U.S. position towards Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Mr. Jeffrey clarified that U.S. policy “is not focused on personalities per se, but on what the Syrian government does.”
Special Representative Jeffrey voiced U.S. concerns regarding the presence of several different foreign troops in Syria. The presence of “five outside military forces in close proximity in Syria makes this conflict potentially very dangerous” – he claimed, referring to the presence of Russian, Israeli, Turkish, Iranian, and American troops on Syria’s soil. In the light of this, Ambassador Jeffrey noted that a political solution to Syria’s crisis should lead to the withdrawal of foreign troops, except for those actors, such as Russia, that were already present before the war.
In particular, Ambassador Jeffrey stressed that the U.S. is concerned with the presence of Iranian-commanded forces in Syria. Such concerns – Mr. Jeffrey clarified – are linked with the U.S. overall policy on Iran, which includes considerations on the need to defeat ISIS and to ensure Israel’s security. Eventually, Iranian-commanded forces should leave the entirety of Syria – the Special Representative stressed.
During an exchange of views with the press, Ambassador Jeffrey also touched upon the complicated relation between the U.S. and Turkey. He repeatedly stressed that the U.S. is aware of Turkey’s security concerns in northeastern Syria, and that U.S. officials are acting in close coordination with their Turkish counterparts. Moreover, while some differences persist on the engagement with Kurdish actors in the region, Mr. Jeffrey highlighted that the U.S. and Turkey continue to agree on a broad range of issues, including the fight against terrorism, Iranian influence in Syria, as well as the negative behaviour of the current Syrian government.
In his closing remarks, Ambassador Jeffrey looked at the way forward, expressing the U.S. wishes for an extension of the ceasefire, and hoping that such efforts will lead to further progress towards a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
