Western media discounting Syria army advances: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst from Washington, to discuss the recent major advances in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo by the Syrian army.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: I am looking at some of the headlines here on this particular gain by the Syrian army backed by the Russian airstrikes and it says: The Syrian government launches major offensive, forcing the peace talks to falter; and another one: Syria conflict Aleppo offensive threatens peace talks. These towns were liberated from these terrorists, how is that threatening these peace talks?

Jatras: Well, I think there are people who are saying that the success of the Syrian army on the battlefield with the Russian air support maybe makes the government less likely to engage in a political settlement that would be acceptable to anybody on the opposition side, because they increasingly believe, and maybe they are right, that a military solution is possible. This is a very significant development. …since the Russian air campaign began, we have been hearing a lot of discounting of it from Western sources saying, ‘Oh, the Syrian army is too demoralized; they have lost too many men; they really cannot reverse the situation.’ But if they can surround Aleppo and eventually Aleppo will fall to government forces and cut off the supply of the terrorists from Turkey and this is both Daesh as well as the other Jihadist groups, they could be moving toward a military solution and then you wonder, what does the other side really have to offer from the other side of the table especially since you still have powers like Turkey and Saudi Arabia who will not be happy with anything less than regime change as far away as that looks now?

Press TV: The theory of regime change or their obsession with having Assad be removed from power perhaps now may fall down the list because of the major gains that have been made on the ground, forcing these terrorists to retreat, killing some of these terrorists. So maybe that is not going to be an option for them any longer because these terrorists are on the drawback; they are either getting eradicated or getting pushed back.

Jatras: That is right, but let’s just remember how difficult that is for some governments perhaps most governments to face unpleasant realities, and this is a policy these countries have dedicated themselves to a very long time; they have now suffered a severe setback. Does that mean they will abandon their plans? Or will they double down?  As we say, one of the biggest fears now are indications that President Erdogan of Turkey may be contemplating a major incursion into northern Syria, directed against the Kurds of course, but designed to relieve the pressure on the Jihadist groups the Turks, the Saudis and the others have been supporting all of these years. So you know sometimes governments are faced with the collapse of an unviable policy, but rather taking a step back and trying to find a way out, they simply make things worse by dumping more resources and political capital into it.

Press TV: Of course the worst-case scenario here is that maybe this is just the beginning because really Russia has entered the game four months ago on terms of their airstrikes. So this is maybe just the beginning of perhaps a protracted war which seems to put into questions these talks that are happening in Geneva right now.

Jatras: Exactly and that is why I think there is an element of truth although I think the spin is somewhat misleading from media reports you mentioned that this somehow endangers the talks. The real problem is whether the Western powers and our regional proxies, the Turks and the Saudis, can take a step back and make the best deal they can to secure their interests and let’s find a way to bring this thing to a close or whether they will keep stirring the pot and pouring gasoline on the fire in the hopes that somehow they can regain initiative.

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