Syrian Conflict and Prospects for Peace

Guest: Hakan Yavuz, PhD, Professor of Political Science and Middle East Affairs at the University of Utah  This week marks five years since the start of the War in Syria, and it comes with a surprising twist: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the “main part” of his forces will withdraw from the country where they’ve been fighting in support of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad. Media reports indicate Russian forces did, indeed, begin to withdraw yesterday. Meanwhile, a tenuous ceasefire between Assad and rebel groups trying to oust him has lasted two weeks. All of which has “produced new momentum” in peace talks underway in Geneva, according to a UN special envoy for Syria.