Kofi Annan to propose role for Iran to revive Syria peace plan

Further details of Annan's plan were leaked to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. He writes that including Russia and Iran – the "key supporters" of Assad's survival – in the contact group gives them an incentive to help along his removal from power and the ability to protect their substantial interests in Syria.

Ariel Zirulnick

Middle East Editor

Ariel Zirulnick is the Monitor's Middle East editor, overseeing regional coverage both for CSMonitor.com and the weekly magazine. She is also a contributor to the international desk's terrorism and security blog. 

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The Russians’ participation could help stabilize Syria during the transition, because they might get buy-in from the Syrian military, many of whose senior officers are Russian-trained. As Syria’s main weapons supplier, Moscow has, over many decades, developed and cultivated contacts throughout the regime power structure.

Would Russia or Iran support this unconventional proposal? It’s impossible to know. In recent days, the United States is said to have held exploratory talks with Russian officials who apparently have indicated some interest. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said a week ago that Moscow wasn’t wedded to Assad’s remaining in power, but the Russians have done nothing to move the Syrian dictator toward the exit.

Russian news outlet RT reports that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov said recently, “Moscow is not trying to keep Assad in power, his fate is in the hands of the Syrian people." And while in Beijing this week, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia considered it "necessary" to bring Iran into the diplomatic process because it has "real influence on different opposition groups," of which there are "not that many." 

According to Ignatius, Russia has offered Assad exile, allowing him to avoid prosecution for war crimes.

But the inclusion of Russia and Iran also makes the plan a controversial one, he writes – some countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Israel, will not be happy about making Iran part of the diplomatic process. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Iran was "stage-managing" the Syrian government's crackdown and "reacted coolly" to the idea of including it more actively, according to Reuters.

Perhaps the biggest thing Annan's new proposal has going for it is the fact that there is still no other option that is palatable to the international community. All chatter about international intervention has been just that: chatter. The result of a failure is all too clear to everyone involved, Ignatius writes.

If Annan’s idea for a contact group proves to be a non-starter, there aren’t any obvious alternatives, other than a deepening civil war. Assad last week resisted the former secretary general’s de-escalation proposals, such as withdrawing Syrian troops from conflict zones and releasing political prisoners. And if progress isn’t made soon, Annan probably will have to abandon his peace effort — with all sides understanding this means a bloody war to the finish. 

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