Shift in Syria

The US expands non-lethal aid to rebels. But no solution is in sight,still,to the terrible conflict

The US expands non-lethal aid to rebels. But no solution is in sight,still,to the terrible conflict

The meeting in Rome between Western diplomats and Syrian opposition leaders,attended by new US Secretary of State John Kerry,had been preceded by the rebels threat to boycott it,voicing their frustration at the slow pace of international aid. The meeting ended in a shift in the Western diplomatic position,with the US declaring an additional 60 million of non-lethal aid to the armed opposition fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assads regime. This is unlikely to have a decisive impact on the crisis,however,which is taking a mounting toll 70,000 killed,according to most non-partisan estimates,and thousands displaced.

The Syrian civil war has all along thwarted international intervention,not least because of the UNSCs successive failures in adopting resolutions against Assad. As a result,even as arms reportedly continued to make their way to the regime,the rebels could not get the anti-aircraft,anti-tank equipment they had been asking for. Meanwhile,the humanitarian tragedy kept deepening. The Rome meet signals that the doors to aid expansion,including possible combat aid in the near future,are open,provided changes occur to the EU arms embargo on Syria.

The two-pronged international objective in Syria now is finding a political resolution and expanding the aid distribution network,using the larger territory the rebels control a possible humanitarian corridor through this territory can reduce the Islamists increasingly well organised aid to civilians. To be fair to the slow diplomacy,concerns about military aid falling into the Islamists hands,particularly the al-Nusra front,are genuine and have grown in recent months. Two years since the fighting broke out,an easy solution is ruled out,despite the conflicts potential to destabilise the Middle East. Stemming the bloodshed should be the first priority.