This is John Batchel, a conversation with a colleague Ahmed Sharrari about Syria and the way forward.

Ahmed identifies two paths, one unlikely, the other grim.

Here he explains.

And Syria right now is understood as rebuilding for sovereign status in the region.

The alternative is, well, you remember the Civil War,

worse than that. Here, Ahmed explains. Much more of this tonight and in the coming weeks.

I mean, the thing is, I only see two paths for Syria. One path where it stabilizes and becomes a Middle Eastern power

or a path where we see a scenario that is way worse than what we saw during the Civil War.

And, I mean, the difference between both is very thin lines.

And again, as you stated, I mean, you named number of organizations.

I mean, this does not include the regional powers like Saudi and the Qataris and the

Emirates and the Jordanians who also have a vested interest in Syria.

It's a complete mess.

And, I mean, it's the U.S. thinks that by putting all its eggs in one basket,

and that is the Syrian government or the Ahmad Shadha government, that it will create stability is,

I think it's a miscalculation at the moment. And sanctions relief and investments and deals,

infrastructure deals is not the path forward.

I mean, there's a lot to be done, but I mean, the threats that could come from that place

if things don't stabilize in the near future, again, could be worse than the peak of the Syrian civil war that saw ISIS emerge and become a regional threat.