Top US and Russian diplomats are considering measures that could eventually allow Syria “to move back into the international community” if it agrees to a series of steps to help end the country’s long civil war.
Jim Jeffrey, the U.S. special representative for Syria engagement, on May 29 told reporters following a closed-door UN Security Council session that Washington and Moscow were studying a “step-by-step approach” to ending the eight-year war, but he added that a resolution will require “hard decisions.”
The comments appeared to indicate new U.S.-Russia engagement to find a peaceful solution to the war that has led to the involvement of the United States and its allies, along with Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the Islamic State (IS) and other extremist groups.
Jeffrey cautioned that the U.S.-Russian engagement “is just a potential way forward,” pointing out that there had been no progress yet in Syria regarding actions demanded by the United Nations and the U.S. administration.
Jeffrey said that during talks earlier in May in the Russian resort city of Sochi, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed a plan that “would allow a Syrian government that adheres to [UN Resolution] 2254 to move back into the international community.”