After a long string of ongoing violence, various state powers are looking to come together in order to put an end to the fighting in Syria. State leaders and representatives are planning to meet in Vienna in the near future in an effort to close the gap between disagreeing parties.
At the present time, there is major disagreement over what should be done about current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Western countries such as the United States want to force Assad to resign from his position, while allies of the Syrian government, such as Russia and Iran, want to keep Assad in power.
By meeting together, state leaders are hopeful that they will be able to reach a peaceful agreement that satisfies everyone. Still, such a prospect is likely easier said than done. Also, this is the first time that Iran has participated in such discussions.
However, while peace talks may be taking place, the situation in Syria is still very violent. Based on reports coming out of Syria, a bombardment by forces of the Syrian government has killed at least 40 people near the Syrian capital of Damascus.
So far in the war that has now spanned four years, 250,000 people have been killed, while half of the Syrian population, roughly 11 million people, have fled their homes, causing a massive influx of refugees in Europe.
Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have recently increased their military involvement in the region in order to support Assad. According to these two countries, the Syrians should be free to choose their own leader, even if it is Assad. This has caused conflict with countries like the United States, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, who insist that Assad cannot continue to lead Syria.
Representatives from a large number of countries will meet in the conference. These countries include the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Various representatives of Syrian Rebel Forces will also participate.
However, the Syrian government will not participate in the upcoming talks.
At the conference, representatives will discuss their plans regarding what should be done about Assad, as well as ways that violence in Syria can be eliminated.
Still, because of the intensity of the conflict, leaders are not expecting anything extremely groundbreaking to occur. Rather, this conference just represents the beginning of a long road toward achieving peace in the region. There is much work to be done in reaching an agreement.
Realistically, one should expect a series of several long and tedious meetings to take place before anything real gets accomplished. It will take a large amount of effort before things can be settled in Syria, as the situation has become one giant mess.
Stay Connected
