U.S. suspending talks with Russia over Syria complicates situation: analyst

The U.S. State Department announced the suspension of ceasefire talks with Russia in war-torn Syria on Monday, which may give rise to further complications, according to Syrian political analysts.

Since September 20, the Syrian government’s forces and the Russian air force escalated their actions in the rebel-controlled area in Aleppo. And the Syrian government has been slow to grant the transportation of humanitarian supplies which the West is hoping to get through.

On the other side, the U.S. attacking Syrian government forces’ stronghold in Deir ez-Zor and the bombing of UN aid convoy has also aggravated the divergence between the two sides.

Some analysts suggested that the political battle within the U.S. has also contributed to the suspension of talks with Russia over Syria.

“It’s obvious that the powers within the U.S. also have differences, especially the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of State. This difference is shown not long after Kerry and Lavrov reached agreement, when the Syrian government’s forces in Deir ez-Zor encountered air strikes,” said Tarek Alabed, a Syrian political analyst.

Some suspect if the U.S. began cooperating with the rebel forces after the suspension, the influence of the United States will also expand in Syria.

“The U.S. suspending talks will for sure increase conflicts in Syria from north to Aleppo and south to Daraa,” said political analyst Mohammad Ward.

“Escalation could happen in every front, like Aleppo. And there has been discussion about liberating Raqqah simultaneously with Mosul. Syrian Democratic Forces and the Kurds, with the U.S. forces together could let the U.S. leave its mark here,” said Alabed.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that the U.S. will continue to seek peaceful solutions to solve the crisis. Analysts said Syria’s situation might escalate in the near future but could become clear once the U.S. holds its election.

“There’s no doubt that the Syria crisis can only be solved with political solutions. All parties in the crisis are trying their best to get the military edge, especially in the Aleppo region. Aside from that, all sides are waiting for the new U.S. government, which holds crucial influence to solving the crisis, to come to power and all parties return to the negotiation table,” said Ward.