The resolution, although it does not guarantee the immediate cessation of hostilities, urges the countries affiliated with the International Syria Support Group to be allies

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. The UN Security Council’s resolution on settling the Syrian conflict, although it does not guarantee the immediate cessation of hostilities, urges the countries affiliated with the International Syria Support Group to be allies and act in concert for the sake of a political settlement, polled analysts have told TASS. On December 19 the UN Security Council unanimously voted for resolution 2254 in support of a peace settlement of the conflict in Syria. Under the resolution the United Nations undertakes to arrange for negotiations between Damascus and the opposition, which may begin in January 2016. Over a period of six months an interim government is to be created in Syria. The new administration is to represent all factions of Syria’s society. According to the plan free elections in the country are to take place within eighteen months under the aegis of the United Nations and in compliance with international standards.

The head of the International Security Centre at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ institute of the world economy and international relations IMEMO, Aleksey Arbatov, believes the resolution is "light at the end of the tunnel." "True, it is going to be a long and intricate process, but the first step forward has been taken," Arbatov said. He believes it is "symbolically important" the UN Security Council’s resolution was adopted unanimously. "This means that Russia and the United States, and in the broader context, Russia and the West are becoming allies in the Syrian settlement process. Russia and the United States played the key role in the Vienna process, which brought together the 18th countries of the International Syria Support Group. Moscow and Washington take the credit for the adoption of this most important UN Security Council on the basis of agreements achieved by the Vienna process member countries," Arbatov told TASS. He is certain that common efforts along the Syrian settlement track have changed the tone of Russia-US contacts at the summit level. "No dramatic turn in bilateral relations can be seen yet, but a positive shift is obvious," he said. The political future of Syria’s President Bashar Assad remains the stumbling block in relations between Russia and Iran, on the one hand, and the Western countries on the other. "Although his name is absent from the UN SC resolution, Assad’s opponents claim that his resignation has no alternative. For the Western countries and also for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey Assad’s resignation and non-participation in future elections are beyond doubt. So disagreements remain. The sole change is the West no longer puts forward Assad’s resignation as a precondition for the beginning of political negotiations," Arbatov said.