A flurry of diplomacy over Syria, but will it amount to progress?
There is concern over a Russian missile shipment to the Assad regime, but cautious optimism persists in some Western capitals over a planned international conference on Syria.
There is concern over a Russian missile shipment to the Assad regime, but cautious optimism persists in some Western capitals over a planned international conference on Syria.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, adding to the recent flurry of global diplomatic activity over the ongoing civil war in Syria.
Agence France-Presse reports Mr. Netanyahu will meet Mr. Putin in Russia Tuesday, where "major attention will be paid to the current situation in the Middle East, first and foremost in Syria," according to a Kremlin statement. Although the statement did not offer further details, AFP reported on Sunday that Netanyahu's trip was "reportedly prompted by concerns that Russia was preparing to ship Syria S-300 surface-to-air missiles, which can defend against multiple aircraft and missiles."
Russia has been a close ally of President Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria as the civil war has unfolded, much to the consternation of the West and most Middle Eastern nations. Russia has countered that the West is fueling regional instability in its support for the rebels, particularly by empowering the Islamist elements therein.
The missiles, whose shipment came to light last week, are a source of concern for both Israel 鈥� which has staged two airstrikes against targets in Syria in recent weeks 鈥� and for the US, 海角大神 reported.
But even as the US and Israel express their concerns over Russia's missile shipment to the Assad regime, there is cautious optimism in some Western capitals over a planned international conference on Syria that both Moscow and Washington are organizing.
The Guardian writes that British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is visiting the White House today, is reportedly set to tell President Barack Obama that he believes Russia is prepared to adopt a more flexible approach to Syria, based on Mr. Cameron's meeting Friday with Putin in Sochi, Russia.
But experts tell AFP that they doubt the progress will amount to anything concrete.
Reuters notes that it is not yet clear whether the Syrian opposition will attend the US-Russia peace conference. The opposition coalition is set to meet on May 23 to determine whether it will attend, though the coalition itself remains split over the leadership of the group. Reuters writes that two factions, one backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, the other by Qatar, are vying for control of the coalition.