YEREVAN. – The New Year in Syria was marked by President Bashar al-Assad’s address following a seven-month silence, Arab Studies specialist Armen Petrosyan stated during a press conference on Thursday.   

In his words, aside from calling on the Syrian people to combat terrorism, Assad’s address was also a crisis settlement plan which, however, is not too realistic because the crisis has passed beyond the country’s borders.   

“Second meeting of UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Russia’s Deputy FM Mikhail Bogdanov, and US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will be held on [Friday,] January 11. [And] Against the backdrop of the meeting, there is a likelihood of another terrorism in Syria,” Petrosyan noted adding that the military operations will slightly reduce in the subsequent period.