No longer does Russia dismiss all of Assad's armed opponents as terrorists. Now it is asking the diplomats who will gather in Vienna on Saturday to draw up two lists, one that designates terrorist organizations in Syria and another that identifies legitimate opposition groups that can take part in peace talks.
Such a strategy is probably the only way to unwind Syria's complex proxy war, though it isn't proving easy for the sides to agree on which groups are which. Russia wants the terrorist list to be long, so it can attack as many of Assad's opponents as possible. Saudi Arabia and Turkey want it to be short. ...
Equally, however, Assad cannot simply be removed. That would invite institutional collapse and potential catastrophe for the roughly 12 million people still under his control, many of them religious minorities who have reason to fear Syria's Sunni rebels.
If the diplomatic process in Vienna is to have a productive future, the U.S., Russia and all other players must accept that, during Syria's inevitably long transition, local security is best left in local hands, allowing Assad to remain in place without threatening people in rebel-controlled areas. Syria has already broken into sections, and putting the country back together will take time.
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