MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. The agreement concerning a ceasefire in southern Syria, reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, shows that the status quo in Syria will be maintained, Russian experts said at the Valdai International Discussion Club’s debate dedicated to the G20 summit.
"This decision points to the parties’ readiness to maintain the status quo," Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Andrei Kortunov said. "This is a precedent that will show if any agreements are possible at all," he added.
According to Research Director of the Valdai International Discussion Club Fyodor Lukyanov, the parties have come to an understanding that "an all-or-nothing victory" is impossible to achieve in Syria. "What happened proves that they realize that an all-or-nothing victory can’t be achieved," he said.
He also emphasized the important role of the Russian and US militaries in achieving the agreement. "It seems that the militaries, both Russian and US, have been the main driving force behind the ceasefire," Lukyanov noted. "They surely understand that nothing can be done by military means only. Despite differences and mutual trolling, there have been no military incidents between Russia and the US there," he said.
According to the Russian expert, it is the high professional skills of the Russian and US military officers that helped prevent unpleasant and even dangerous incidents. "In this connection, the situation in Syria is currently better than the situation in the Baltic region," he stressed.