The Daily Star

Monday’s announcement that President Bashar Assad will study a proposal by the U.N. envoy to Syria to “freeze” fighting in Aleppo should generate skepticism rather than optimism.

Steffan de Mistura originally made his proposal at the U.N. earlier this month, and ever since, he and his plan have been dismissed by Syria’s official media. With de Mistura now in Damascus, perhaps the regime decided that the most diplomatic thing to do would be to welcome the “freeze” idea as worthy of discussion.

But there are few indications that the regime will agree to any let-up in the “war on terror” it is waging against its own people. Under such conditions, it is difficult to envision U.N. peacemaking efforts with both sides seriously committed to the process.

Last year, the Syrian regime felt itself embattled at times – it was forced to commit to attending the Geneva peace talks that were being prepared, and it agreed to hand over its chemical weapons and stockpiles in order to avoid a likely round of U.S. airstrikes after hundreds of people were killed in the Ghouta suburbs of Damascus.

This year, with the failure of Geneva and the world’s attention focused on ISIS and other Al-Qaeda splinter groups, and not the regime’s actions, Assad can only feel himself in a stronger position and less likely to make compromises. The U.N. is now on its third envoy – de Mistura – after the missions of his two predecessors failed to achieve anything. If the U.N. truly believes in the possibility of ending the war, its initiatives should exploit this – but if Assad’s “study” period leads to only more death and destruction, the U.N. will only be a partner in prolonging the confli

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Editorial/2014/Nov-11/277164-unwitting-accomplice.ashx#ixzz3IkxTPaEN
Follow us: @DailyStarLeb on Twitter | DailyStarLeb on Facebook