The Syrian crisis is nothing but a "game for control over oil riches," where religious and other issues are only used as a pretext, according to William Engdahl, a political analyst.
In an interview, William Engdahl, a political analyst gave his thoughts on the Syrian gridlock, which he sees as a conflict over the country's oil riches, with religious and other issues only being used as a pretext.
The interview came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry called for the next round of the Syria peace talks to start quickly.
He remained downbeat about the future of the Syria peace talks, saying that "everybody is lying to everybody", with the United States, for example, already discussing a possible partition of Syria in the event that the talks come to a standstill.
Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has said in an interview with Arab media that the next round of the intra-Syrian talks is due to be held on March 10.
The latest round, more than a month after de Mistura suspended the previous sit-down, comes as Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria that took effect on February 27.
The cessation of hostilities is generally holding across the country despite minor reported violations, Sputnik reported.
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