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Militants not genuinely after peace in Syria: Writer

Tuesday, 24 January 2017 7:15 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 24 January 2017 7:15 PM ]

Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov (C) reads the final statement of Syria peace talks in Astana on January 24, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

At the end of the Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, the Syrian government and representatives of some of foreign-backed militant groups have reached an agreement on a communique underlining the need for preserving a ceasefire, which began on December 29, 2016 in Syria. On Tuesday, the warring sides also agreed upon a mechanism to monitor implementation of the ceasefire.

Vincent Emanuele, writer and activist from Michigan, says the so-called armed opposition does not want real peace in Syria because it consists of radicals who like to continue violence.

The militants are “very uncoordinated and loaded with radicals” and extremely violent elements “who would like to see the violence continue,” Emanuele told Press TV’s Top 5 on Tuesday.

The militants have not been “prepared for the kind of peace settlement that Turkey, Iran and Russia agreed to,” he added.

Many of the foreign-backed militants “only understand violence,” he said, adding that they are not able to realize realities on the ground.

The militants have lost several areas in Syria and suffered humiliating defeats on the ground, but they still insist on their precondition for peace agreement, which is the overthrow of the Syrian government.

Outside forces like Saudi Arabia and the so-called armed opposition have never been homogeneously organized and never been after end of bloodshed in Syria, he noted.

According to the activist, violent options chosen by Saudis, Qataris, Americans and Europeans to “pour arms and money” into Syria did not settle unrest in the Arab country but increased the violence.

Pointing to the final statement of the Astana talks, he noted that the Western powers, especially the United States, which demonizes Syria, Russia and Iran, should realize that any stop to the violence is a good achievement.

The United States has not had a coherent strategy from the very beginning, the American authorities wanted “to overthrow” the Syrian government, but the US have understood that “the only way to defeat some of the more radical elements in Syria is to maintain a state apparatus and a solid functioning government,” he said.

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