Russian FM says ready to support UN envoy's proposal to allow Al Nusra to exit Aleppo with arms

RT
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 13:29 UTC

© Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters

Russia is ready to urge the Syrian government to let Al-Nusra Front militants exit Aleppo with their weapons, as proposed by the UN envoy to Syria, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says.

Once the jihadists exit the war-ravaged city, Syrian government troops and the opposition will be able to form joint law-and-order bodies, Russia's top diplomat said, as cited by RIA Novosti.

"In the first place, those who don't leave with 'Nusra' should clearly separate themselves [from it], on paper, officially sign such a commitment," Lavrov said.

"Maybe then the government law enforcers and this armed opposition will be able to form some kind of joint law-and-order bodies to ensure normal life, so that people would feel safe," he continued.

On Thursday, the UN's envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, warned that East Aleppo might be destroyed within two months if the military action in the city continues. He also urged Al-Nusra to leave the city, saying that he is willing to personally escort them out.

"If you [Al-Nusra] did decide to leave, in dignity with your weapons, to Idlib or anywhere you wanted to go, I personally am ready, physically ready, to accompany you," he said.

Comment: Now that would be something! Too bad Syria has politely declined a visit at the present time, given the "international context", i.e., the tensions between Russia and the USA.

Lavrov noted that according to the UN estimations there are between six and eight thousand militants in Aleppo.

"Among them up to half, that what Mistura said in the UN Security Council [are from] 'Jabhat Al-Nusra," the Russian Foreign Minister said.

If Al-Nusra exits Aleppo and moves to Idlib, where its major forces are located, Russia "will be ready to call on the Syrian Government to agree with that," Lavrov added.

Comment: The question is: will al-Qaeda agree? This 'plan' was essentially one of the main objectives of the cessation of hostilities agreement. What makes de Mistura think the rebels will listen this time? Maybe there's something else going on, e.g., providing safe cover to exfiltrate the Nusra-embedded U.S. special forces rumored to be holed up. From the entertaining but unverifiable Ziad Fadel at Syrian Perspective:

The United States is particularly concerned about the 12+ American rodent terrorists who were embedded with Alqaeda in East Aleppo. Their being taken captive would be a massive humiliation for a president whose own legacy is now assuredly one of failure and deep degradation. The Syrian Army - MI are monitoring the communications between the American rodents and their commanders in Turkey. Their situation is untenable. The Americans are slowly starving and are giving hints they might have to surrender to the SAA. This is why the U.S. was so insistent on a cease fire. There is also discussion of an extraction operation using both U.S. and Turkish commandos to break in to East Aleppo and save the miserable lives of the American terrorists. Such an operation, if unsuccessful, will bring even more opprobrium to Obama and his team of imbeciles, not to mention a virtual admission of American support for Alqaeda. A real mess.

Ironically, if Nusra takes de Mistura up on his offer, it won't end up well for the rebels, according to Syrian information minister Ramez Tourjman:

Aleppo is an important boundary in the history of this crisis. Its liberation will lead to a quick collapse of terrorist groups and will force [the sides] to transition to the political resolution of the crisis.