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Going back to war is no option

As leaders gather for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Ankara, the crisis in Syria is likely to keep them bogged down. Finding a permanent solution to the five-year old conflict cannot be delayed any further. The summit has incidentally coincided with the resumption of peace talks in Geneva, and it should be used as an opportunity to prevail over the stakeholders to chart out a course of action at the earliest. But the most worrisome point is that fresh fighting in Aleppo threatens to derail a fragile truce that is holding for the last six weeks. Which is why United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura has warned that there is an urgent need to take steps towards a political transition, and the earliest the talks conclude in an amicable solution, the better.
The onus is on the regime in Damascus and the opposition parties to put their heads together and find a way out of the crisis. Going back to warfare is not an option, and it is high time Syrians are relieved from the jaws of death and destruction. The focus should be on formation of a transitional government, as stipulated under the UN Security Council resolution, and carve out a plan of action to amend the constitution and hold elections, subsequently. The parliamentary vote that is underway in many parts of Syria at the moment is a distraction from real issues. How can a country in war with its own people, and more than three million displaced and uprooted go on to hold a ballot? Its credibility will obviously be questioned. Damascus should concentrate on harnessing a working equation with its political allies and adversaries, and bring the war to an end. Only then can the new government take on the real enemy, i.e., Daesh. The militia has wrecked havoc not only in Syria and Iraq, but also threatens peace and stability in Turkey, and far beyond inside Europe. With Russia, the US and regional states supporting peace parleys in Geneva, it is incumbent upon the feuding sides to bury the hatchet and start anew. That is what the Syrians demand after years of bloodshed and instability.