Key powers mull over a federal division of Syria

Proposal to let Syria keep single-state unity, yet allow for regional self-govt

The ball is largely in Mr Assad's court. His fate is the biggest sticking point for Western and Gulf governments who insist he must go at the end of a transition period. He had earlier also not ruled out the idea, albeit with conditions. Seen here ar
The ball is largely in Mr Assad's court. His fate is the biggest sticking point for Western and Gulf governments who insist he must go at the end of a transition period. He had earlier also not ruled out the idea, albeit with conditions. Seen here are children at play in the southern country town of Idlib in Syria. PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW YORK • Major powers close to UN-brokered peace talks on Syria are discussing the possibility of a federal division of the war-torn country that would maintain its unity as a single state, while granting broad autonomy to regional authorities, diplomats said.

The resumption of Geneva peace talks is coinciding with the fifth anniversary of a conflict that began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad, before descending into a multi-sided civil war that has drawn in foreign governments and allowed the growth of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in Syria and Iraq.

Fighting in Syria has slowed considerably since a fragile "cessation of hostilities agreement" brokered by the United States and Russia came into force almost two weeks ago. But an actual peace deal and proper ceasefire remain elusive.

As the United Nations' peace mediator Staffan de Mistura prepares to meet delegations from the Syrian government and opposition, one of the ideas receiving serious attention at the moment is a possible federal division of Syria.

Neither the opposition nor government has confirmed its participation in the latest round of peace talks in Switzerland.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a UN Security Council diplomat said some major Western powers, not only Russia, have also been considering the possibility of a federal structure for Syria. "While insisting on retaining the territorial integrity of Syria, so continuing to keep it as a single country, there are all sorts of different models of a federal structure that would, in some, have a very, very loose centre and a lot of autonomy for different regions," the diplomat said.

He offered no details about the models of a federal division of authority that could be applied to Syria. Another council diplomat confirmed the remarks.

The biggest sticking point in the peace talks remains the fate of Mr Assad, who Western and Gulf Arab governments insist must go at the end of a transition period.

After five years of civil war that has killed 250,000 people and driven some 11 million from their homes, Syria's territory is already effectively split between various parties, including the government and its allies, Western-backed Kurds, opposition groups and ISIS militants.

This week, Syria's Saudi Arabian-backed opposition rejected a suggestion by Russia which, like Iran, supports Mr Assad's government and has intervened militarily on its side, that the peace talks could agree to a federal structure for the country.

"Any mention of this federalism, or something which might present a direction for dividing Syria, is not acceptable at all. We have agreed we will expand non-central government in a future Syria, but not any kind of federalism or division," Syrian opposition coordinator Riad Hijab said.

But the idea of federalism for Syria has not been ruled out.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday, Mr de Mistura said "all Syrians have rejected division (of Syria) and federalism can be discussed at the negotiations".

In a September interview, Mr Assad did not rule out the idea of federalism when asked about it, but said any change must be a result of dialogue among Syrians and a referendum to introduce the necessary changes to the constitution.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 12, 2016, with the headline Key powers mull over a federal division of Syria. Subscribe