May 17, 2016

Kerry Says ‘Competing Interests’ Hold Up Syria Peace Accord

Featuring: Ilan Goldenberg

Journalists: Jonathan Tirone, Henry Meyer

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said “competing interests” are holding up a peace settlement in Syria, as Russia argued that President Bashar al-Assad is a “lesser evil” than the chaos that could be sparked by his ouster.

Kerry reiterated his goal of striking a deal to end the five years of civil war in the Middle Eastern country by August after negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and counterparts from other powers in Vienna on Tuesday. But the United Nations envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, declined to name a date for the next round of peace talks.

 

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Author

  • Ilan Goldenberg

    Former Senior Fellow and Director, Middle East Security Program

    Ilan Goldenberg is the former Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. He is a foreign policy and defense expe...