Will the West warm to the Assad regime?
Western capitals, but primarily Washington, have repeatedly demanded the Assad regime to step down from power during the bloody civil war. But a recent statement from James Jeffrey, the US envoy to Syria, has shaken Western political consensus.
Alam reinforced his argument by referring to comments made by Joel Rayburn, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Levant Affairs,“He was basically saying that ‘We don’t want regime change. But we don’t want normal relations [with the regime] either’. So it’s Catch 22,” Alam toldRayburn denied any suggestion that the US would “walk back from holding the Assad regime accountable”, calling it a “fantasy”.
According to him, Jeffrey is employing a negotiating tactic, which, in diplomatic circles, is otherwise known as ‘constructive ambiguity’. During the speech, the US envoy also appeared to reveal what America’s conditions might be in the event of a rapprochement between his country and the regime. People eat their Ramadan Iftar meal provided by a group of volunteers in a damaged neighbourhood, amid fear for the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Atarib, Aleppo countryside, Syria, May 7, 2020.
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