Russia-US Syria deal hits trouble as tensions grow

Bloomberg

One of the main deals announced between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump at their summit in Helsinki — coordinated steps to help stabilise the situation in Syria — is already running into trouble.
Facing a storm of criticism in Washington of their meeting, the two leaders touted the agreement to reduce Iran’s role in the war-torn nation and step up efforts to bring back refugees as a tangible result of their cooperation.
But the Syria efforts have stumbled in the aftermath of the summit, amid recriminations between the US and Russia and pressure from Israel for more limits on Iran’s influence.
Moscow accused the US of sabotaging the deal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and a top general set off on an emergency diplomatic tour to Israel, Germany and France to try to get the effort back on track. US officials have provided little detail of what was discussed in Helsinki, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the outlines of the understandings on Syria.
The difficulties in implementing them highlight the challenges for the Kremlin’s efforts to engineer a settlement in Syria that balances the interests of all the conflicting factions, from President Bashar al-Assad and his Iranian backers to Israel and the US. The furor in Washington over Trump’s handling of the summit, including a push in Congress for new sanctions on Russia, has only complicated the effort.

Promises ‘Not Fulfilled’
The US “has not fulfilled its own promises” made in Helsinki to remove opposition forces to enable a buffer zone on Syria’s border with Israel, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The Defense Ministry accused the US of sabotaging the agreement after a senior American commander, General Joseph Votel, said that his country’s military won’t cooperate with Russian forces beyond a de-confliction hotline to avoid unintended clashes.
Moscow is counting on US help to bring an end to the fighting in the region, a precondition to bringing back refugees. That issue was a key one on the agenda in Lavrov’s meetings this week, as the Kremlin sought to get European governments to help fund reconstruction in Syria in return for Russian commitments to return Syrians displaced by the war to their homes.
To limit Iran’s role, Russia had proposed a 60-mile buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border that would be off limits to Iranian forces and their allies. But Israel is demanding further protections, including the removal of long-range Iranian missiles from Syria and limits on weapons supplies, according to media reports. The Jewish state, which has carried out frequent strikes on Iranian-backed targets inside Syria, has stepped up military action in the area.