You cannot ignore the opposition and expect to reach a solution in Syria. You cannot try to placate the regime, involve Iran, and mollify Russia, and expect to come up with a workable formula. And most importantly you cannot start from square one without making sure that the Americans are behind you. However, this is exactly what UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, has tried to do. Not once, but three times. De Mistura may be an experienced diplomat, a man trusted by the UN secretary-general, and someone respected by his peers. But when it comes to Syria, he does not seem to be able to do anything right. When arranging meetings with the Syrian opposition, de Mistura meets people on a random basis, sometimes even consulting with associates of the regime posing as members of the opposition. No wonder half the members of the opposition he has invited have turned him down, and many others have publicly ridiculed his overtures. However, de Mistura's major faux pas was trying to involve Iran in talks. For many Syrians, Iran is anathema – a country that bolstered the regime when it was time for it to go and then backed it with even more ferociousness as the killing got out of hand. The Syrians would have expected the UN to take action against Iran for its crimes in Syria, not to treat it as a partner for peace. Washington is also not the least interested in de Mistura's peace talks. The Americans are not trying to obstruct his work, but they have generally treated him with benign disdain – not an auspicious beginning for someone trying to resolve one of the world's most intricate crises. US officials have told Syrian opposition leaders that the Geneva meetings to which de Mistura is inviting them have “nothing to do” with the previous meetings in Geneva that were held in more promising circumstances. The regime itself has also not been budging an inch, even as its situation worsens on more than one battlefront. The regional situation is one of utter chaos. The international community has lost heart and focus. But de Mistura continues to plod along, talking all the time to the wrong people. Washington does not seem to think that circumstances are conducive to a solution in Syria. Regional powers are distracted by the situation in Yemen and Libya and other threats to their security. Everyone is uneasy about the deal between the US and Iran on the Iranian nuclear programme. Where would an international negotiator start, if he was serious about peace in Syria? According to Marawan Habash, a former minister and a senior member of the Syrian Baath Party before joining the opposition, de Mistura should have spent his time rallying the international community behind a clear interpretation of the Geneva Declaration. “Although he is experienced in dealing with international crises, he hasn't found his bearings since coming to Syria,” Habash said. “He should try to get a unified interpretation of the Geneva Declaration from the countries that formulated it.” Some claim that the UN envoy has treated the armed opposition with disdain, which may explain why 31 factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) decided to boycott his consultations and issued a public statement to this effect. The armed opposition was particularly shocked by de Mistura's sending Iran an invitation to the consultations. Iran “occupied Syria and is trying to damage its Islamic and Arab identity”, a statement by the armed opposition noted. For its part, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF) rejected de Mistura's overtures right away, accusing him of siding with the Syrian regime. A series of regional developments over the last month, including Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen, has also changed the strategy of some countries concerning their support for the Syrian armed groups. Omar Al-Kosh, a Syrian opposition writer, said the problem with de Mistura was that he did not seem to understand the Syrian crisis. “He doesn't seem to have learned anything from the failure of the meetings in Moscow a few months ago, or from the Geneva talks during which the Syrian regime stalled instead of negotiating,” Al-Kosh said. The international envoy seems to expect Iran to accept a fair solution and to want to get the regime to do the same. This is simply unrealistic, Al-Kosh said.
