That may involve giving a short-term role in a political transition to President Bashar al-Assad (partly to save Russia’s face). But a president who has barrel bombed his own citizens cannot conceivably be part of a longer-term peaceful settlement.
我们必须结束叙利亚反对伊斯兰国之士之间的分歧。这可以包括让总统巴沙尔·阿萨德在政治过渡期间起到短期作用（部分是为了保留俄罗斯的面子）。但一位用桶弹（barrel bomb）轰炸本国公民的总统成为长期和平和解的一部分，这是绝对无法令人信服的。