It should be no surprise that Syria has announced tit-for-tat expulsions of North American and European diplomats, as well as Turkey’s entire mission to Damascus. The Assad regime ought, however, to be concerning itself with more important matters, whilst also appreciating that having an undiluted and complete diplomatic corps in Damascus actually represents an advantage in terms of presenting its own case, however tawdry.

Instead the regime has slammed the door shut on any quiet dialogue. It cannot be doubted than this new-found confidence arises from Moscow’s continuing determination to fly diplomatic top cover over the regime at the United Nations. Here Russia has once again been joined by the Chinese, despite Beijing’s earlier apparent cooling toward the Assad dictatorship. They are both insisting that the UN-Arab League peace plan still be given a chance, even though the Syrian opposition has now ostensibly abandoned any faith in it.
However, it is clear that the Assad regime is having to appear to be bending to international pressure. It has now agreed to allow aid agencies to enter four of the provinces that have seen the most violence: Deraa, Deir Al-Zour, Homs and Idlib.

According to the UN, the deal that they have struck with the Syrian regime will allow them to open offices in each of these stricken areas. There is also to be unfettered movement by UN agencies seeking to bring humanitarian assistance to Syrian communities. Damascus has also agreed to streamline visa applications from UN agencies and a number of non-governmental organizations.

As a UN spokesman said this week: ”The good faith of the [Syrian] government will be tested on this issue today, tomorrow and every day.”

The UN has to accept these assurances at face value. It has to work on the basis that Assad’s people mean what they say. It is obliged to do so. Yet anyone who has observed the breathtaking duplicity of the regime will be expecting very little from such commitments. This latest burst of optimism from the UN is surely doomed to disappointment, if for no better reason than the fact that the Assad government simply cannot afford to have anyone make impartial observations of their repression.

Yet the humanitarian challenge is undeniable. There are now more than a million Syrians who are in need of some sort of help. In large areas of the country, medical services have collapsed or been seriously disrupted. There are food shortages in certain areas and the psychological damage done to tens of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire of the conflict may take years to be assessed.

Not many people believe that the Syrian government will honor its commitments to the UN. Nothing in its past behavior suggests any reason for optimism. Yet this is the way that diplomacy has to advance. Even though many countries, including Saudi Arabia, no longer believe a word that comes out of Damascus, it is imperative that this latest initiative be given a try, even though bitter experience assures us it is another phony gesture.