Junior Research Fellow Helga Kalm gave a lecture on the past, present and future of the crisis in Syria in Tartu on September 22.
She opened the season of lecture series organized by the Circle of International Relations of University of Tartu. Helga focused on explaining the strategic goals and current positions held by both the local and international actors. The only region where democratic rebels have cooperated and gained ground so far is the South, which has been the main target of government bombings. The North remains fractioned between different groups and is currently an easy target for extremist groups. Government has been losing grounds to both rebels and the Islamic State, which has prompted Russia to increase its support to the regime in recent weeks. There are no good solutions to the current conflict, she concluded, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t support the initiatives of establishing a normally functioning enclave in the South of Syria.