Hussam Muhammad, Baladi News, Daraa
The fifth round of Astana talks on Syria in the Kazakh capital started on Tuesday, but most of the Syrian opposition didn't attend, especially the representatives of regions that are witnessing a major escalation by Russia, Iran, and Assad's regime.
Well-informed media sources reported that Iran had submitted a request to postpone discussing the file of the southern region and also submitted a proposal on the points of contact in those areas, while the sources indicated agreeing on two centers to monitor the de-escalation agreement, the first is in Jordan, including Russia, the United States and Jordan, and the second is shared between Russia and Turkey.
The academic and member of the political body in Idlib "Abdullaziz Ajeiny" said: "The Russian intervention in Syria was based on the theory of power which lacks the political vision and this is the point that the American took advantage of dragging the Russians to a dead end and so any solution in Syria is now linked with the American vision.
Ajeny added that this American vision was based on creating disputes among all the parties and weakening them all which will force them to resort to the Americans in order to exit the Syrian swamp. That's why the meeting of Astana is considered the last log in the Russian life raft and so they are waiting for a solution that serve their interest at the minimum level.
The leadership of the southern front confirmed the absence of any representatives of it in the talks of Astana and that it didn't entitle any entity to make statements on its behalf. While the head of the Russian delegation to Astana, Alexander Lavrentiev, announced that the aim of Astana talks is to reach an agreement regarding the de-escalation regions in Syria.
The Syrian media activist, Naji Abdullah, said to Baladi News that the steadfastness of the rebels of Daraa has failed Astana even before it started and it's likely that Astana will collapse as a total file despite the Russian attachment to it as it's the arena of their political battles.
The source expected that diminishing the political role of Russia in Astana may be a bridge towards a larger American political influence that we may witness over the next month.