Coalition with participation of Assad is only reasonable way of combating IS — expert

David Speedie, the Director of the Carnegie Council’s program on US Global Engagement called president Putin's proposal a sensible one, indeed the only coherent response to the Islamic State threat.

Building a broad anti-terrorist coalition based on international law, which would interact with the Syrian authorities is the only effective way of countering the Islamic State terrorist group, David Speedie, the Director of the Carnegie Council’s program on US Global Engagement, told TASS, commenting on the initiative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin on this particular issue put forward at the United Nations on Monday.

"Of course President Putin's proposal is a sensible one, indeed the only coherent response to the ISIL threat," he said. "President Rouhani of Iran said basically the same thing at an event in New York yesterday: the first order of business must be eliminating the terrorist threat in Syria," the expert noted.

He added that one of the obstacles to the stabilization of the situation in Syria was Washington’s stance, according to which the Syrian government should be excluded from the peace process, and Assad’s resignation is the condition for the settlement. "The truth is that US-led insistence hitherto on Mr Assad’s departure as a precondition for ending violence has been a major obstacle," the political scientist said.

According to Speedie, "it seems that a priori removal from office would hardly act as an incentive for the Syrian leader to participate" in the negotiation process.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech at the 70th session of the UN general Assembly described as illegitimate any actions of countries in circumvention of the UN Charter. He called for creating a broad anti-terrorist coalition, which would be fighting with Islamic State on the basis of international law and the UN Charter.