The Annan Plan was a miracle plan that could have benefited, in the short term, all those who were not disturbed by the bloodshed.

The final leg of support for the Syrian Ba’ath regime’s geopolitical comfort zone was the political climate generated by the other dictatorships in the area.

Syria has become one of the few friends Iran has left, after it was blatantly sanctioned by the West, the U.S and other states in the region after the Islamic revolution.

Russia’s future in the Middle East fares no better than the al-Assad regime in which Russia had been investing.

Moderator: Taha Özhan, President of SETA Foundation    Panelists: Besma Kodmani, Syrian National Council Veniamin Popov, Moscow State Institute of International Relations Kayhan Barzegar, Center for Strategic Research, Iran Basheer Nafi, Al Jazeera Center for Studies  Date/Time: April 3rd, 2012, TUESDAY 10:00-12:00  Venue: SETA Ankara room, ANKARA

The study addresses the League’s policy proposals, decisions, and reactions regarding the Syrian crisis and con­centrates on what these all policy measures mean for the League as a regional organization. 

What the Syrian regime fails to see is that this space carved between the political occupations of 2012 and geopolitical balances is about to expire.

America will only then - if indeed it wants - be free from the three answers or the single al-Assad answer outlined above!

As so many outside powers have clashing geopolitical, security, and economic interests, what does the road ahead look like for Syria?

Syria, which is the most wounding issue we face today, has turned into yet another test for the global platforms.

The only thing that will happen if the Assad regime in Syria is not overthrown is the continued political junk bond problem whose existence is extended slightly while its default risk is increased.

The new paradigm in relations seems to be working so far in critical issue areas, including Syria and NATO’s missile shield.

Conspiracy theories are instruments of creative thinking. Yet, there is a huge difference between creative thinking and insisting on selective facts that only align with a theory.

In the wake of the Arab League’s embargo against Syria, a new period is ahead for the Baathist regime.

SETA’s public seminar “Seeking Justice And Accountability: Rights Abuses And The Arab Uprisings” brought together Joe Stork and Jan Egeland of Human Rights Watch to discuss human rights in foreign policy making, and efforts to advocate for human rights and influence regimes like that in Syria which has turned a deaf ear to calls to end the brutal clampdown on demonstrators.

The majority of the actors, particularly those who are closely related to the Syrian crisis, do not really talk about Syria even when they are speaking about Syria.