Syria: a powder keg with echoes of Sarajevo 1914
Who could have predicted that the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand would be the spark to ignite world war one? Does Syria carry the same carry potential?
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“Dangerous signs of separatism” are emerging in some regions of Ukraine, the country’s interim president says as he prepares to meet law enforcement agencies.
Russia accuses the Ukrainian interim leadership of “terrorist methods” and says western backing for the rebellion is an “aberration”.
Thousands dead, millions displaced, and daily atrocities – the Geneva II talks to find peace in Syria are aimed at finding a crucial solution, but the challenges seem insurmountable.
The Syrian National Coalition confirms it will attend peace talks in Geneva on Wednesday, after the UN withdraws its controversial last-minute invitation for Iran to attend.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he has no intention of giving up power and the issue is not up for discussion, accordng to reports.
Syria’s government and some rebels could let humanitarian aid flow and enforce local ceasefires in the country’s civil war, US Secretary of State John Kerry announces.
As Britain and other countries try to persuade Syria’s fractured opposition to attend peace talks in Geneva, the main western-backed group signals that it may not be going.
Ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock, the United States and Russia agree on a UN Security Council draft resolution designed to rid Syria of its chemical weapons.
The Syrian government welcomes the agreement to disarm their chemical weapons but the US warns Syria that it will take action if it fails to live up to its promises.
But Syrian rebels say the US and Russian plan for decommissioning Assad’s chemical weapons ‘can go to hell’, won’t work and sets back the opposition cause.
Who could have predicted that the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand would be the spark to ignite world war one? Does Syria carry the same carry potential?
Monday’s UN inspectors’ report on the alleged chemical weapons attack outside Damascus will confirm that poison gas was used, according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Vladimir Putin appeals directly to the nation in a US paper, calling on the American public to steer clear of “brute force” in Syria, as the Russian foreign minister prepares to meet with John Kerry.
One reason why Russia opposes US intervention in Syria is that it could make a bad situation worse. And from a Russian viewpoint, instability is a far greater worry than injustice or cruelty.
Why have all the powers involved in trying to resolve the Syria crisis – the US, Russia, France and Britain – so singularly failed to exhaust diplomatic avenues to avoid conflict?