BEIRUT (AP) – The international community is mounting its most serious effort yet to end the nearly 5-year-old Syrian war, rallying around a second round of talks in Vienna this weekend amid the emergence of a Russian proposal that calls for early elections.
But the global push for peace so far excludes any of the Syrian players, and experts say any hasty decisions risk leading to even greater bloodshed.
While world leaders seem to be in agreement that the time has come to put an end to the carnage in Syria that has killed more than 250,000 people, there is still no clear roadmap on how to get there.
Still, the stepped up diplomatic activity, coupled with the U.S. decision to send special operation troops into northern Syria – something the Obama administration had long sought to avoid – reflects a new urgency and a shift in dealing with the world’s most intransigent conflict.
The Russian proposal calls for drafting a new constitution within 18 months that would be put to a popular referendum and be followed by an early presidential election. But it makes no mention of Syrian President Bashar Assad stepping down during the transition – a key opposition demand and a sticking point in all previous negotiations to end the civil war.