„By kowtowing to Russia and accepting that Bashar al-Assad might be able to stay on, America all but guaranteed Syria’s bloody war will drag on. … [T]he Obama administration itself has increased the odds of failure. Its recent tilt toward Russia’s position on the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – accepting that he might have a role in a future political transition – has undermined prospects for success, damaged U.S. credibility with the opposition, and further eroded America’s leverage in the Middle East. This shift in U.S. policy has almost certainly made a negotiated settlement in Geneva less likely. Even worse, it could well spur the continued escalation of the Syrian conflict.“ (Der Politikwissenschaftler am United States Institute Of Peace Steven Heydemann in der Zeitschrift Foreign Policy: The United States Botched the Syria Talks Before They Even Began)
