Syria, with Russia’s aerial support has been winning in Aleppo and thus it was the US who needed the ceasefire, however Washington was never sincere about the deal and simply used it to re-arm the militants, Canada-based award-winning author, sociologist and geopolitical analyst Mahdi Nazemroaya told Radio Sputnik.
The truce which was brokered by the US and Russia is now effectively at an end with the US being to blame, not Russia or Syria, Nazemroaya told Radio Sputnik. It was the US that attacked Syrian land forces, killing over 60 Syrian soldiers and injuring many more, the geopolitical analyst said. The attacks appeared deliberate and were followed by an offensive by Daesh [Islamic State/ISIL] which was left unhindered. The US Air Force did not even respond to the Daesh offensive, he noted, instead attacking the Syrians. With the ceasefire effectively ending on September 19, the expert then asked what the next actions of the US were?
“It asked for the Russian and Syrian Air Forces to be grounded, and said that only the US and its allies should have mastery over the skies of Syria and they are the ones who should be bombing,” he answered.
“We see whom they are bombing. They are bombing the Syrian military, they are bombing the legitimate government of Syria and indirectly helping Daesh as well as al-Nusra,” he further stated. Mahdi Nazemroaya explained that what has been happening during these truces was that the US had been using them to arm extremists groups, not just “moderate rebels.”
“The distinction between them is very hazy, I mean the Free Syrian Army and al-Nusra, for example. They are using this opportunity to arm them and we see who is sincere here,” he told Sputnik.
“What I know is that the Syrian side and the Russian side do have humanitarian concerns for the people of Syria and Aleppo Governorate. And one of the reasons the ceasefire came about was because of that. Because the Syrian Army, the Syrian government was actually advancing and winning. And that is one of the reasons why the US even negotiated,” he said. Moscow negotiated the ceasefire with the full support of Syria and Iran, the expert said. The Syrian government has authorized Moscow to speak on its behalf. Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov and the Russian negotiation team were in constant contact with Damascus and the Syrian government. Russia also thought it was in the best interests of Syria as a state and of Syria as a society that this peace agreement be brokered. However the US saw an opportunity in this truce and it has never been sincere, he explained.
“It is important to point out not only that the truce is based on the victories of Russia, Syria and Iran and their regional allies in fighting in Syria but the Syrian position on the US is also very important: they welcomed the US-Russia deal but at the same time they are always wary of the US. Since the US does not keep its promises,” the expert said.
There is only one side that really has humanitarian concerns, he added.
“When you look at it from a logical angle, Syria and its allies including Russia were fighting and defeating the terrorists. They were advancing towards Aleppo and in other areas and they did not need to make the truce at the time,” he explained. “They made it because they believed it was in the best interests of Syria as a state and Syria as a society. It was in the best interests of the Syrian people to go forward with the truce,” he said. “What we just see now is that the US is not sticking to its word,” he therefore concluded.
