Overthrowing Bashar is likely to result in an Islamist regime, which might turn out to be far worse for the country’s Kurdish, Christian, Druze and Armenian minorities.
The growing violence and regional unpopularity of the Assad regime forced India to give up its erstwhile silence on Syria and vote against it both in the Security Council and General Assembly.
With Russia’s increasing involvement in the Asia-Pacific region, it has become extremely important for Japan to build a relationship of trust with that country and keep the territorial dispute on the back seat, at least for the time being.
India will have to take a call on whether the pivotal position of Iran for reaching Afghanistan and Central Asia outweighs the benefits India derives from its relationship with the West and the Arab world.
There is a real danger that India’s strategic space in West Asia could be further constricted due to the rising political tensions on account of the Iranian nuclear imbroglio.
As long as the army remains loyal to Bashar, the rebels are unlikely to make much headway, although their continued ability to secure weapons through the Turkish border would plunge Syria into a protracted civil war.
By bringing the Syrian question to the UN Security Council on the basis of proposals formulated by the Arab League, led principally by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the western powers ran the risk of not only facing a combined Russia-China veto but of inflaming sectarian opinion.
Having rejected the western demand for oil sanctions, the real test for the Indian government lies in whether it can implement its public pronouncement.
S.M. Krishna’s visit to Israel has added the crucial political content to one of India’s most significant bilateral relationships of the post-Cold War era.
A Gloomy Syrian Scenario
Overthrowing Bashar is likely to result in an Islamist regime, which might turn out to be far worse for the country’s Kurdish, Christian, Druze and Armenian minorities.