Syria safe zones plan a step in right direction

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be moving ahead for plan to establish safe zones in Syria backed by peacekeepers with a high degree conviction. And to achieve this, there is marked change in the interaction between major powers supporting rivals in the Syrian conflict.
Putin secured the US backing for the proposal to create safe zones in Syria during phone call President Donald Trump. It will include the ban on bombings raid. The Trump-Putin call was the first between the two leaders since tensions erupted over a US missile strike on Syria in the wake of chemical weapons attack by Assad forces. The White House described call as “very good.”
Moscow has long urged Washington to join forces with it in Syria. As a presidential candidate, Trump had pledged to cooperate with Putin on defeating IS. But this has been opposed by both Republicans and Democrats after Russian election meddling scandal. They are pushing for a harder line towards Moscow over its interference in the US election and Ukraine and for supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Now Putin and Trump agreed to step up efforts to cooperate on resolving the Syria conflict and the fight against terrorism.
Putin discussed Syria safe zones with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said Russia and Turkey can “change the destiny of the whole region” together. Also, in what can be a significant development,
a senior US diplomat joined the two days of Russian-led talks in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Syria’s opposition is skeptical about the Russian initiative, which calls for the creation of four buffer zones in the northwestern Idlib province, Homs province in the west, the East Ghouta suburb of the capital Damascus and southern Syria. The areas would be patrolled by forces that could include troops from Russia, Turkey and Iran. This is not acceptable to Syrian opposition group. They want United Nations peacekeepers to be deployed. That’s an idea rejected by the Syrian government.
What could be a blow to efforts for brokering a solution, the opposition delegation suspended its participation in the Astana talks because of “unending bombardment” by government forces.
It is beginning to dawn on Putin the divide between his ally Assad and the rebels who oppose them is impossible to bridge. That’s a sort of departure from Russia’s stand that Syria should remain a united country. UN’s Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has suggested the federalization of Syria as a path towards peace, but both the Assad regime and the opposition rejected the proposal. Putin is also appears to be accepting the fact that there is no way to achieve peace in Syria without the US.
Putin and Erdogan attempted to halt Syria fighting by brokering a ceasefire between the warring factions last year. But it hasn’t been effective and failed to bring any significant outcome.
So Putin-Trump agreement over safe zones is a step in right direction to resolve Syria crisis. A deal between Putin and Trump may involve freezing the conflict by convincing the warring sides that none of them can win immediately, maybe not for a long time.