Leonid Bershidsky, Columnist

Russia and Turkey Pushed the West Out of Syria

Western nations have become irrelevant to Syria's future.

December 14, 2016 at 11:49 AM UTC

Leonid Bershidsky, formerly Bloomberg Opinion’s Europe columnist, is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation Team. He recently published Russian translations of George Orwell’s “1984” and Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.”

Abandoned by the West.
Photographer: AMEER ALHALBI/AFP/Getty Images

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Neither the U.S. nor European powers seem to have been aware that Russia and Turkey were negotiating a ceasefire and evacuation deal for Aleppo on Tuesday. After the capture of the ravaged but all-important city by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, this may be the new normal in Syria -- one in which the West is more of a spectator than an active participant.

Though the evacuation, planned for 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, was delayed by an outbreak of fighting, with the sides blaming each other as usual, talks are continuing, and Western nations are not part of them. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday morning that it was "pointless" to talk to the U.S.; negotiations with Turkey would be "more effective than many months of a pointless hangout we have had with the United States."