The United States does not demand that Russian troops leave Syria as a condition for a political solution to the conflict in the latter, as Russian-Syrian military ties date back to the pre-war era, Joel Rayburn, the US Special Envoy for Syria, made this statement in his speech at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
""We have not held out as a condition for the political solution to the conflict that the long-standing Russian military relationship with the government of Syria has to end. The US formula for political settlement calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces that arrived in Syria in 2011 or later," he said, responding to a question about the base at Tartus. - "The Russians had a naval presence there for decades before 2011. We have not tried to press for their pre-existing relationship to end."
According to Rayburn, the issue of possible future military cooperation is for "the next Syrian government" to decide. "It's up to the Syrians to decide. We hope they will," the special envoy noted.
There is currently a logistical support point for Russian naval ships in Tartus, which began operations back in 1977. It is the only naval support point in the Mediterranean Sea.
A military solution to the crisis
Rayburn said that Russia and the Syrian authorities would like to reach a military solution to the conflict in Syria, but there is no attempted offensive on Idlib.
"The important thing is that the regime of [Syrian President Bashar] Assad and his allies had to stop the main offensive on Idlib (after the March 5 agreements between Russia and Turkey on a cease-fire in the province - TASS note)," Rayburn said. - The strategic military balance in Northeast Syria has shifted not in Assad's favor. We are not seeing Assad trying to return to an offensive on Idlib and invade [the province]."
According to the special envoy's version, this is because government forces have been severely damaged by Turkey and their "local Syrian partners." "I don't think they are going to break the ceasefire," he continued. - <...> But it is clear that Russia and the regime would like to achieve a military solution to the conflict."
The State Department spokesman did not cite any evidence to back up his statements. According to his interpretation of the situation, Moscow "has been trying since 2016 to help Assad win a military victory." "But he cannot win, the Syrian armed forces are weak. It's time to look at reality: only a political solution is possible," he said.
Rayburn also called the Astana format for a settlement in Syria "no longer there." "It's a dead format. They (Syria settlement guarantor countries - Russia, Iran and Turkey - as well as representatives of the Syrian government and opposition groups - TASS note) are still meeting, but no political solution will come out of it," he argued. According to the US special envoy, the Geneva format is "the only viable venue".
Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan agreed at the March 5 talks in Moscow to introduce a ceasefire and a number of other measures aimed at resolving the situation in Idlib. The agreements they reached included a cessation of hostilities in the region along the entire line of contact. Moscow has repeatedly noted that the Idlib deal has caused Washington's dissatisfaction. Russia is pursuing two parallel tracks on Syria: assisting the legitimate government in eliminating the remnants of terrorist elements and helping the Syrian parties to engage in political dialogue.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS