Syria negotiations to take place amidst intense violence
US Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to be in Vienna over the weekend for a gathering of diplomats searching for solutions to the multi-faceted crisis in Syria. “The chance for successful diplomacy depends, in part, on the ability to exert (military) leverage,” he said on Thursday, adding that recent US moves in this area are meant to counter Russia’s large-scale deployment of troops and aircraft to buttress the Assad regime. “Walls of mistrust within Syria, within the region, within the international community are thick, and they are high,” he added. In related news, US Special Operations troops reportedly deployed in direct support of the Kurdish peshmerga’s advance on the Islamic State-held town of Sinjar in western Iraq this week. The battle for control of the city, which sits astride Highway 47, the major supply route between IS held territory in Syria and Iraq, is reportedly fierce, with heavy casualties reported on all sides. Read More
