A breathing space is now available to think clearly and to act, as much as possible, responsibly. The time frame that the Russian initiative has introduced, undoubtedly, constitutes an opportunity to bring about a possible resolution of the Syrian crisis that has long eluded the international community.
Whether this was prompted by a possible military strike against Syria that US President Barack Obama planned but without sufficient congressional and public support, and whether Russia also realized that it is no longer the superpower that the Soviet Union was, it seems that this realistic awareness from both Obama and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, has provided an opening for the resumption of diplomacy and a preliminary meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday, Sept. 12.