Peace in Syria and the Middle East - Is it too much to hope for?

John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov are to be congratulated in averting another crisis in the Middle East. It looks as though commonsense and diplomacy might work. When Russia and the US work together they become a powerful force to persuade warring states to come to the negotiating table. Let us hope that Syria will allow its chemical weapons to be destroyed and that they will sign the treaties banning the  use of chemical weapons.

It is unlikely , however, that the killing in Syria will be stopped by this latest peace initiative. It will be exceptionally difficult to negotiate a peace treaty but the US and Russia need to try again.  The war in Syria is horrific and the suffering of all its innocent people needs to be stopped.

There can by no shame or humiliation in negotiating a peace agreement. The decision by President Obama to walk the path of diplomacy is to be congratulated not condemned.  Why should someone who is not prepared to use force be portrayed as an "isolationist"? I would prefer the word realist.

If a settlement can be concluded in Syria then there is hope for a settlement of the Israeli and Palestinian crisis.

Confidence building can only come from guaranteeing the Israeli state and its people to the right to live in peace. Some"realpolitik" on the side of Israel's opponents and enemies is required. Equally, Israel needs to apply some "realpolitik" to the confrontation so they should withdraw from their settlement of Palestinian territory by force. There should also be a settlement negotiated over Jerusalem.

The only institution that can impose this form of "realpolitik" on the two combatants is the UN supported by all security council members.

An Israeli and Palestinian solution should be ambitious and should involve the ultimate objective of merging the two states or if this is unacceptable to both parties, then the two states should head for a loose "confederation" for want of a better word.

This type of  loose "confederation" was adopted by Britain and Ireland after Ireland became fully independent. It has been very successful for many decades and exists to this day.

British and Irish citizens are completely free to come and go within their respective countries, they can settle down and vote for parliamentary elections. In other words an Irish citizen living in Britain has most of the rights of an indigenous Briton and vice versa. Neither country sees any need to change a very satisfactory arrangement. Both countries are completely independent but act together in the common interest of their states and individual citizens.

It is time for Israelis and Palestinians to set aside their animosity and live alongside one another in peace and co-operation not war

Why not give the loose "confederation" idea a try? It is one way of assuring continuing peace.