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Partitioning Syria will be the alternative plan if a United States-Russian cease-fire does not hold in the upcoming days and if United Nations-sponsored peace talks between warring parties in the country do not result in a transitional country, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday.
Biden wanted to partition Iraq. He has to settle for Syria. America's long-game.
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) February 23, 2016
“This can get a lot uglier and Russia has to be sitting there evaluating that too. It may be too late to keep it as a whole Syria if it is much longer,” Kerry said of the Syrian conflict in front of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington Tuesday.
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It is the first time Kerry has spoken of partition. “Assad himself is going to have to make some real decisions about the formation of a transitional government process that is real … there are certainly plan B options being considered,” the top U.S. diplomat added.
Partition of Syria is an inevitable reality, whether it happens now or in the future. USA slowly accepting it... pic.twitter.com/5JYRUALOvn
— Dr Partizan (@DrPartizan_) February 23, 2016
The plan, according to Reuters, could include a military action if the peace talks and the cease-fire fail to accomplish an end to the conflict.
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U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Monday on a cease-fire that would take effect in Syria on Monday, however, it does not include airstrikes against the Islamic State group, al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front and other extremist groups labeled as terror groups by the United Nations.
The Syrian government and the Saudi-backed opposition body known as the Higher Negotiations Council said they would conditionally agree to a cease-fire.
Syrian government forces have been making advances and gaining ground against rebel-held territories across the country with the help of Russian airstrikes, which started in September last year.
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On whether Russia and Assad forces were serious about the cease-fire, Kerry said: “In the next few days we will know more. It is step by step. There are no illusions. Eyes are open.”
A new report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research released this month says 11.5 percent of Syria's 22.5 million population has been killed or injured since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. Almost 500,000 people have been killed, doubling previous estimates, according to the report.
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