What has trumped these missteps, and enabled each side to focus on opportunities rather than excuses, is that both the US and Russia now understand that they have common interests in Syria. Both sides want not only to preclude the Assad regime’s further use of chemical weapons, but also to find a route to sustainable peace in Syria, and to reestablish the authority and utility of the UN in these situations.
美国和俄罗斯现在清楚他们在叙利亚拥有共同利益掩盖了这些失误，使得各方对机会而不是借口更加关注。双方想要的不只是杜绝阿萨德政权进一步使用化学武器，而且要找到叙利亚持久和平之路，并且重建联合国在类似情况下的权威和效用。