Upcoming Event: The Fragile Ceasefire in Idlib and the Syrian Conflict

May 30, 2019

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

The Syrian conflict continues unabated, as the Assad regime with Russian support mounted a recent ground offensive amid reports of chemical weapons use in Idlib. As the talks on creating a safe zone in northern Syria continue between the U.S. and Turkey, developments in Idlib violate the already fragile ceasefire agreement guaranteed by Russia and Turkey in Sochi. The regime offensive can create a large number of IDPs and a new refugee outflow threatening regional stability and Turkey’s capacity to host more refugees. As the broader conflict remains a complicated arena for a regional proxy power struggle between regional powers, the U.S. withdrawal’s fate remains uncertain as well. As the recent Syria Study Group’s interim assessment notes, the Assad regime remains unwilling to compromise, risking a prolonged humanitarian crisis and further divergence between U.S. and Turkey as a result of Russia’s Syria policy.

Please kindly join the SETA Foundation at Washington D.C. for a timely expert panel discussion on these developments on the ground in Idlib as well as the trajectory of the Syrian conflict.

Speakers

Charles Lister, Senior Fellow, Director of Counterterrorism and Extremism Program, Middle East Institute

Daniel Serwer, Director of Conflict Management, School of Advanced International Studies

Bassam Barabandi, Co-founder and Director of External Relations, People Demand Change

Jeff Aronson, Chairman and Co-founder, The Mortons Group

Moderator

Kilic Kanat, Research Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC