Reports of “plan B” for Syria is a very dangerous trend which is similar to the situation with Minsk-2 agreements on Ukrainian settlement, Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev told a conference of the Valdai discussion club titled “Middle East: From Violence to Safety.”
“The fact that some talk about ‘plan B’ appeared now seems a very dangerous trend to me,” he said. “This is somewhat reminiscent of the situation with the Minsk agreements when the responsibility for their implementation is placed entirely on Russia, even though Ukraine does not comply with them.”
Washington earlier announced it was preparing “plan B” in case a planned ceasefire would not materialize. Washington does not officially disclose the contents of its alternative plan. However, US media report that the US leadership is ready to place all responsibility on Russia for disruption of “plan A”. Moscow says there is no need to be distracted by alternative plans and takes practical steps to implement the joint agreements.
On the whole, Kosachev spoke highly of the Russian-US agreements on Syrian settlement. “The current Russian-American initiative is a very important psychological moment. This is the third manifestation of the fact that together Russia and the United States can achieve more than when they stand in each other’s way [after Syria’s chemical disarmament and the Iran nuclear deal],” he said.