'US won't celebrate Astana deal on Syria; despondence & guarded comments likely'
The key thing with the US concerning the Astana deal on Syria may happen when Donald Trump meets Turkish President Erdogan who could pull the rabbit out of the hat and present a compromise.
Moscow's representative at the Syria peace talks in Astana revealed the de-escalation zones established by Russia, Turkey and Iran will also be no-fly zones for all those involved in the conflict, including the US-led coalition.
The three countries also agree on the borders of the zones during May.
RT asked veteran journalist and Middle East expert Martin Jay what Washington's view will be regarding the establishment of these zones.
Martin Jay: Peace comes at a price. I think it’s been a great delivery on the Russian side, on this side of the Atlantic, but in Washington, I think there is going to be a certain amount of despondence and guarded comments. They are certainly not going to be celebrating anything. It is hard to imagine how something like this, which has been presented as a breakthrough peace deal, could be perceived by the Americans, by Trump as some sort of diplomatic victory for him. It is as though all the major players have got around the table and looked at a map of Syria and discussed among themselves what is the weakest link, where could we extract some compromises which could be a patched together peace process. And they will come up with the FSA [Free Syrian Army] which is American-backed, FSA is on the American payroll. I think we need to look at this more calmly and be more measured and think critically. The key thing with the Americans will be in two week time when President Erdogan of Turkey who has positioned himself brilliantly as a peace broker and a negotiator with East and West, he will speak; he will meet Trump. I have a suspicion that he will pull the rabbit out of the hat and present a master plan of some compromise where the Americans can look as though they have gained something from this deal.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
