According to a New York Times publication, the U.S. is now more concerned about ISIS than ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Yevgeny Satanovsky, the president of the Institute of the Middle East, explained that the U.S. needs Iraq as a pillar in Afghanistan, and Iraq together with its allies in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Persian Gulf.
The expert doubts that the reframing of the U.S. approach would have any effect on the military conflict in Syria. Satanovsky clarified that the Syrian crisis had been provoked by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to oust Assad, start a religion-based civil war in Syria and destroy the country. He predicts that the “Salafi tandem” and Turkey would continue abetment of the civil war in Syria.
Vitaly Naumkin, the director of the RAS Institute for Oriental Studies, calls for careful evaluations of Washington’s moves. In his words, it was more a softening of the U.S. position than any change of course. Naumkin assures that the U.S. does not consider Assad to be an element of resolution of the problem. The expert concluded that the U.S. was a partner of Assad in a war against the same foe.
