Syria would be divided into zones of regional power influence and Assad would remain president in a transition for just a few years under a deal outlined between Russia, Turkey and Iran.
Foreign and defense ministers from Russia, Turkey and Iran met in Moscow on Dec. 20 and set out the principles they thought any Syria deal should adhere to.
Such a deal, which would allow regional autonomy within a federal structure, would see Assad’s powers cut by the three nations.
Moscow got Iran to buy into the idea of a three-way peace push by getting Turkey to drop its demands for Assad to go soon.
Turkey wants to informally control a swathe of northern Syria giving it a safe zone to house refugees, a base for the anti-Assad opposition, and a bulwark against Kurdish influence.
By helping Assad retake Aleppo, Iran has secured a land corridor that connects Tehran to the Mediterranean at Beirut and also to the borders of Israel, their ultimate goal.