Syria

With the Syrian crisis having taken a perilous turn, predictable obstacles in implementing UN envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan should not lead to give up on what – for now at least – remains the only serious option on the table.

Kofi Annan’s appointment as joint UN/Arab League Special Envoy arguably offers a chance to rescue fading prospects for a negotiated transition in Syria.  It must not be squandered.

The Syrian crisis has entered its most dangerous stage, requiring urgent attention to issues that the international community and Syrian opposition have largely been ignoring.

Even in its attempts to survive at all costs, the Syrian regime appears to be digging its own grave.

The outcome of the Syrian uprising remains unclear, but what is clear is that a wide array of social groups, many once its supporting pillars, have turned against the regime.

Syria typically, and at times justifiably, brings to mind stagnation and immobility. Yet, over recent years, change has been afoot.

Syria’s foreign policy sits atop a mountain of apparent contradictions that have long bedevilled outsiders.

Candidate Obama pledged that his Middle East policy would include re-engagement with Syria; President Obama will find that the past is not easily overcome.

How is one to engage Damascus? As the incoming U.S. administration examines the future of its relationship with Syria, seemingly persuaded that an improvement in bilateral ties and an Israeli-Syrian agreement could fundamentally modify the regional landscape, France’s recent experience offers useful lessons.

Abruptly interrupted in 2000, Israeli-Syrian negotiations seem only a distant possibility but a renewal is urgent and would have a real chance of success.