US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington is considering a "plan B" in Syria, if peace negotiations and the ceasefire fail. Media reports suggest that the backup plan could include the division of Syria.
Mr. Kerrys comments came afterRussia and the US agreed a document onthe cessation ofhostilities inthe Arab republic. According tothe deal, the ceasefire will start onFebruary 27 and will last forone week.
The truce is applied toall parties ofthe conflict, which indicated their commitment toaccept the terms ofthe deal, exceptfor the terrorist groups Daesh and al-Nusra Front.
Commenting onJohn Kerrys statement, Tim Anderson, distinguished author and senior lecturer ofpolitical economy atthe University ofSydney, told Radio Sputnik that Washington is unlikely tolaunch a new military operation inSyria, noting that the White House has no appetite foran escalation ofthe crisis.
They will keep using their proxies asthey have always and fromthe plan B that they just announced we know that this has been inplace forsome time.
US intelligence almost four years ago said that partition ofthe country, a caliphate inthe eastern part ofSyria is exactly what the US wanted. So this is not really something new butit does show that the US is still continuing withits aggression againstthe Syrian state, Anderson said.
He further spoke abouthow the US has been using its proxies inTurkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar totry and carve outa slice ofthe Northern part ofSyria. But now that is all inretreat and the US is pondering what they can do aboutit.
I dont really think there is an appetite inWashington foran escalation ofthis crisis, Anderson said. He further spoke aboutthe involvement ofother interested parties inthis conflict.
It is very well known that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar have been supporting these groups. It has been admitted bya senior US official.
Anderson noted that it is a very strange situation witha lot ofdouble game that Washington has been playing. But how long will this charade continue for, that is the question, the analyst said.