WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2019) Iraq can help the Syrian government and representatives of the opposition reach a deal based on Syrian interests including by hosting peace talks, Sarkawt Shamsulddin, a member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives told Sputnik.
"The Iraqi government can play a role in helping the leaders of opposition and also the government to reach a deal based on Syrian interests," Shamsulddin said. "We can have talks in Baghdad, maybe next talks in Baghdad for the groups,"
Baghdad's role, he added, would be limited because the Iraqis are still fighting the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia).
Shamsulddin pointed out that Iraq shares culture, language, ethnic groups and a long border with Syria and stability is important for the future. If Syrians learn from the Iraqi lesson, he added, the only way of moving forward is having a democratic constitution and free and fair elections.
"We are more organized and united than Syria and we have better economy than Syria. But in terms of similarities, I think our example can be helpful for Syrian people," he said. "We need to have a stable neighbor so we can have also stability because that's how ISIS [IS] spilled into Iraq."
Lebanon and Iraq took part for the very first time as observers in the 13th round of Astana-format talks in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan.
Shamsulddin said he considers the Astana talks ineffective because "Syrians don't decide for themselves."
The international community has launched several efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, including the UN-led Geneva peace process and the Astana peace process initiated by Russia, Turkey and Iran. One of the most notable outcomes of the Astana talks was a memorandum that created de-escalation zones in Syria.
The United States and its allies have said they do not consider a resolution of the Syrian conflict possible if President Bashar Assad remains in power. Russia has said only the Syrian people can decide Assad's political fate and has supported his government. Russia has also been providing significant quantities of humanitarian aid to affected residents in Syria.
Syria has been in a state of conflict since 2011, with numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations fighting the Syrian Army and other government forces in an effort to topple the Assad government.
