Russian Peace Plan For Syria Rejected by World Powers

​Western powers and Gulf Arab monarchies have dismissed a Russian plan for peace and reform in Syria and said it will not form the basis for the second round of peace talks over the fate of the war-torn country that begins this weekend in Vienna.

Moscow presented a document before the United Nations that proposes a constitutional reform process in Syria, lasting 18 months, to be followed by presidential elections.

The plan was immediately rejected by the United Kingdom and the opposition since it didn’t say whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should remain in power during that time.

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However, the Kremlin has said it is open to alternative proposals from the countries participating in the peace talks, in what has been called the most significant international effort to end the four-year Syrian armed conflict.

According to official sources, since March 2011 when the conflict erupted, about 250,000 people have lost their lives and millions more been displaced by the turmoil in Syria.

Countries like Saudi Arabia and Turkey back the Syrian opposition idea that Assad must go, meanwhile world powers like the United States and Britain have not shown a defined position so far. However, their troops continue in the country in an alleged fight against Islamic State extremists.

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Russia and Iran have committed significant military resources to the fight on the ground and have repeatedly call for a peaceful end of the country. They defend the sovereignty of the Syrian people and also support the permanence in power of President Assad.