In a last-ditch push for peace in Syria, UN officials are hosting peace talks between the Damascus regime and the opposition. The Vienna talks are scheduled just days ahead of Russia's rival peace summit.
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Syria's warring parties are meeting for a two-day UN-sponsored peace summit in Vienna following a series of initiatives that have so far failed to end the seven-year civil war.
"Today, there is no political perspective that presents itself, other than — and it's the last hope — the meeting that will be held in Vienna ... where we hope a peace agenda will be mapped out," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told lawmakers in Paris.
Both the Syrian government and the opposition alliance have agreed to send full delegations to Vienna, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura told reporters.
"By definition I am optimistic. ... It's a very critical moment. Very, very critical," he said, adding that the agenda would focus on revamping Syria's constitution.
Observers believe that this would allow UN representatives to sidestep the far more contentious issue of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his political future.
Assad has consistently rejected calls to step down in the past. Now, the regime seems likely to end the war militarily with the help of Russia's air power and Iran-backed militias, raising doubts about Assad's willingness to make any concessions.
As the two sides meet in Vienna, Russia is preparing to host a separate peace summit in the southern city of Sochi early next week.
Western and some Arab states have charged that Russia's peace bid undermines the UN-sponsored process.
"The United Nations has to be put back in the middle of the game. There is no question of letting the [UN-backed] process be hijacked, diverted or bypassed," a French diplomatic source said.
Syrian opposition representatives said they were not yet sure whether they would attend the Sochi conference. The regime opponents still don't have enough information about the bid, said its chief negotiator Naser al-Hariri, commenting on the rumors that top regime representatives would be absent.
"Is Russia unable to really bring the regime to the negotiating table — or does it not want to bring them to the negotiating table?" Hariri told reporters in Vienna.
"The main place to achieve a political solution, a political transition is in the UN-led process. ... It is very dangerous to enter into any parallel initiative and ignore the main political process, which is here in the UN-led process," he added.
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.