Christians in Syria are having a hard time believing in Santa Claus this year, but also in U.N. and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. The Sunnis, Druze and Alawis don't know in whom they can put their faith. Who will bring an end to the brutal civil war that has ravaged Syria for the past 21 months and has already left 45,000 dead? The Syrian army on one side and the rebels on the other have been unable to strike a decisive blow and settle the conflict. Back to diplomacy, then- Brahimi, the Algerian envoy who replaced the exasperated Kofi Anan, happens to believe, even if he doesn't say so explicitly, that a diplomatic breakthrough is possible in the near future. Recent talks between Moscow and Washington could lead to the long-awaited result. Brahimi notched a considerable victory on Dec. 6, when he managed to arrange a meeting in Dublin between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russia and Iran are supporters of the Syrian regime, including militarily, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar provide weapons to the rebels. At this rate, both sides are still capable of unleashing attacks and hunkering down in a defensive posture. For some time already, this has translated to the battlefield in the rebels' ability to hold their territorial gains, but not much more. The stalemate isn't particularly helpful to the regime either, and certainly not to the civilians. Moscow has understood that Syria will never go back to the way it was before March 15, 2011. Russia can extend the regime's life, but doing so won't benefit it the day after the regime falls. Moscow doesn't believe in tears, but it believes in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad less and less by the day. While the war in Syria is being waged between Assad and the rebels, it is also between Washington and Moscow. Russia knows the Syrian conflict is a pain in the Americans' side: On the one hand Washington doesn't want to intervene militarily, but it's also difficult for the world's most important power to allow for violence of such proportions without offering a military response. Both Russia and the U.S. are interested in an end to the conflict, each for its own reasons. Assad survived 2011. He has a few days left to survive 2012 as well. 2013 will end without him.
