[Breaking] Syrian Peace Plan Reached, As Russia Opens Black Box From Jet Downing

It has barely been a day since UN-brokered negotiations gave rise to a unity government for Libya. Now, the UN Security Council has come to a unanimous agreement on a peace plan for Syria as well.

“This council is sending a clear message to all concerned that the time is now to stop the killing in Syria and lay the groundwork for a government that the long-suffering people of that battered land can support,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said to the council.

This resolution came soon after the US and Russia reached an agreement on paper, overcoming the differences they’ve had until recently… apparently, anyway.

In an interesting coincidence, Russia had just yesterday opened the black box from the wreckage of the downed Sukhoi SU-24 bomber.

NATO member Turkey had brought it down, claiming that it had entered Turkish airspace. A Russian pilot was killed by “Turkman” rebels, and another Russian was killed when a rescue helicopter was downed by a US-supplied TOW missile launched by the Free Syrian Army.

Russia has been keen to ensure that no allegations of tampering with the evidence could be levied against it; Putin had explicitly ordered that the box be opened in front of a panel of international experts and journalists. The opening was broadcast on live television. The results of the box’s analysis might be available as early as Monday.

It would seem that Putin is very certain that the data from the box would prove that his jet had not entered NATO-member Turkey’s territory. If he is correct, NATO (which has yet to either apologize or even express sympathy for the downed jet) would be profoundly embarrassed. Perhaps embarrassed enough to make concessions.

On the 15th Dec, Associated Press states that, “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday accepted Russia’s long-standing demand that President Bashar Assad’s future be determined by his own people, as Washington and Moscow edged toward putting aside years of disagreement over how to end Syria’s civil war.”

The US government and military, which rarely (if ever) backed down during its confrontation with Russia, is backing away from its previous  “Assad must go before peace” stance.

The result, it would seem, is a peace treaty in Syria that everyone seems to agree to- one that postpones the whole “Assad must go” debate to a later date.

Despite earlier accepting that Assad’s fate lies solely with the Syrian people, Kerry said to the Security Council that, “we are under no illusions about the obstacles that exist. There obviously remain sharp differences within the international community, especially about the future of President Assad.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had this to say of the resolution: “This is a clear response to attempts to impose a solution from the outside on Syrians on any issues, including those regarding its president.”

The French government remains critical of the deal: There must be “guarantees on the departure of Bashar al-Assad,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. “How could this man unite a people that he has in part massacred? The idea that he could once again stand for elections is unacceptable to us.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said he had presented a document compiling the groups each country attending considered to be a “terrorist” organization.

“‎Each country sent its own view. Some countries sent 15 to 20, others sent more,” he told reporters. “It’s a launch pad … There will be follow-up steps to set the criteria (for which are to be labeled terrorist groups).”

This peace treaty will basically mean that “moderate” rebels and Assad’s military will begin to maintain a ceasefire- one that would not extend to the Islamic State (ISIS) and the al-Qaeda backed Nusra Front, as well as a number of other terrorist groups.

All the major players have just agreed that ISIS is the major threat, and that its extermination is a priority.

Sources: Reuters, Yahoo News, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg View

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