It is far too early for any real hope that the people of Aleppo will get a genuine respite from the murderous violence raining down on their heads, but it is good news that Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that Russia (and the Bashar Al Assad regime to which it is closely allied) would halt air strikes on Aleppo indefinitely. Putin’s surprise announcement came after a meeting with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel when they both spoke very strongly in condemnation of the Russian bombing of the civilians in Aleppo.
Putin’s words were not particularly clear, so they may change over time. But he said that Russia had promised that the Syrian government strikes, which are supported by Moscow, would be suspended for eight hours on Thursday to allow civilians to leave the besieged city and for rebels to flee, adding, “We informed them of our intention to continue, as much as possible, considering the situation on Syrian territory, a pause in the air strikes. We are ready to do this for as long as there are no clashes with rebel formations entrenched in Aleppo”.
The real problem is that there are so many caveats in this promise that it may not be worth very much. Russia’s words will have to be proven if its president’s words mean anything.
Putin also showed how he was working to position Russia as the country that was taking the initiative to find an end to the Syrian conflict, when he added that Russia would work to “reinvigorate” a new Syrian constitution, which would be the first step towards a political transition in the war-torn country.
“Russia proposes to step up work in this sphere on devising a new constitution so that preliminary election may be held and positions of all conflicting parties may be preliminarily coordinated,” Putin said.
Russia’s bizarre blend of fiercely one-sided military intervention and unilateral diplomatic initiatives stand in stark contrast to the work of the international coalition, which is seeking to limit foreign military intervention and focus on the multilateral Geneva process, which will be more durable under the inevitable pressure that ending a civil war is bound to experience. While the end of bombing of Aleppo would be very welcome, it would be even better if Russia was to join the Geneva process more whole-heartedly and contribute to the success of a more enduring peace.
