Trend Arab News Service head Rufiz Hafizoglu
Damascus has adopted the peace plan of UN-Arab League Special Envoy on Syria Kofi Annan on Tuesday to stop the clashes in the country.
According to this plan consisting of six items, the authorities must meet the just demands of the people to start discussions with groups led by the Syrians and representing all political parties.
There must be an end to the clashes in the country, the army must be withdrawn from the cities and humanitarian aid has to be delivered to the regions requiring it. Innocent people must be released and conditions created for the smooth entry of the media into the country and to permit peaceful protests.
Carefully observing the events in Syria, one can clearly see that there will be no serious progress in the country these days. Even if Bashar al-Assad resigned, it may seem the solution to the crisis initially, but does not mean it is a complete settlement.
The lack of serious opposition in the country which still cannot come together, the transformation of the events into a clash between members of different currents of Islam which is beyond the confrontation between the opposition and the authorities, give a reason to speak about a continuation of armed confrontation even after the government is changed.
The meeting conducted by the Syrian opposition in Istanbul was one of the highlights that occurred after Annan's plan was adopted. Despite the Syrian opposition having previously held similar meetings, all political forces in the country, except for the Syrian Kurds have agreed to preserve the territorial integrity of the country at the last meeting. The Democratic Union Party's disagreement (Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat) is a part of a long-term plan of Syrian Kurds.
The plan adopted by Damascus was assessed by Kofi Annan as a successful step undertaken to establish peace. But it did not stop the clashes taking place in Syria's various cities. Despite Annan considering the plan adopted by Damascus as being successful, the Syrian opposition said that it does not trust Bashar Assad.
But the most interesting thing is that Turkey has also taken this position. According to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement made on the eve of his official visit to Iran, it was stressed that Ankara too, does not believe in Bashar Assad's sincerity.
Prime Minister Erdogan said that Assad has earlier made promises to the Turkish leadership, but fulfilled none of them. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a meeting with Syrian Foreign Ministry official representative Faisal Mikdat who is on an official visit to Tehran, said that Iran will do everything possible to support Damascus.
Indeed, the way out of the Syrian crisis depends more on Tehran today than on the West, Arab states and Turkey. Ankara and Western countries have adopted economic sanctions to resolve the crisis situation. However they will not be effective enough, because the economic cooperation between Iran and Syria, is partial, reduced as a result of economic sanctions
Regarding the creation of a 20-kilometre security zone on Syria upon Ankara's initiative, the Turkish army carries out subversive activity on the border with Syria. So it is not easy to see this project as it may seem.
Bashar al-Assad's further regime will depend on the negotiations to be held between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian officials in Tehran.