Dr. Ismail Salami: Toward Balkanization? Syria Swings between Hell and Dialogue!

Admittedly, it is not hard to imagine how someone can predict a vision of hell in a country like Syria, which has become a hornet's nest of terrorism, and that which is tumbling into further chaos and bloodshed: Lakhdar Brahimi, who represents the United Nations and the Arab League, "has predicted 100,000 people could be killed in the next year, as Syria moves toward "Somalization" and rule by warlords." Apart from his foreboding tone, his remarks are testimony to a broader gamut of interference at the hands of those who have infiltrated into the country from abroad. In point of fact, what is corroding Syria is not an internal unrest, but a foreign made crisis. The Syrian opposition group insists that the start of dialogue would be made possible only with the departure of President Assad, and says that it would not be ready to engage in any dialogue with Russia without any clear agenda. "If Russia has a proposal to stop the bleeding in Syria, it should submit it, and we will respond," Mouaz al Khatib, head of the main bloc of Syrian opposition groups, has told Al Jazeera." "We can't meet with the Russians without a clear agenda." Russia and Iran are playing pivotal roles in preventing a human catastrophe in the country, and seeking to resolve the crisis through diplomacy. After talks in Moscow on Saturday with Lakhdar Brahimi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia could not press Assad to give up power. Besides, he has once again clarified his country's stance on Syria, and said Russia "isn't in the business of regime change." He has repeatedly said, both publicly and privately, including during his meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi not long ago, that he has no plans to go anywhere, that he will stay in his post until the end, that he will, as he says, protect the Syrian people, Syrian sovereignty and so forth. There is no possibility of changing his position." The implication is very simple. Russia does not want regime change in Syria, as there is supposedly no point in seeking such a solution. This policy is also strongly shared and seconded by Iran, which has already set forth a six point peace plan for Syria. Hossein Sheikholeslam, an adviser to Iran's Majlis speaker for international affairs, has said that Tehran's six point peace plan would be the only solution to the unrest in Syria, and that no country should intervene in the internal affairs of the Arab country.