EA's Scott Lucas talked to Monocle 24 on Friday morning ahead of a working meeting between UK prime minister David Cameron and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Sochi, to discuss the Syria conflict.
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Key points raised in the discussion:
1. Asked whether the Sochi working meeting would be a "game changer" in terms of any political advances on Syria, Lucas said that was unlikely, since without a cease fire --- the condition set last June in Geneva for a political solution on Syria --- there could not be a political resolution.
2. Cameron is likely to raise the issue of Russian support for Bashar al-Assad, and whether Moscow is prepared to pull back that support and push for Assad to step aside. If Russia is unwilling, the US and UK could consider ramping up their support for "moderate" elements of the Syrian insurgency.
3. Comments by Turkish prime minister Erdogan regarding Ankara's support for a No Fly Zone over Syria are an "important signal" that Turkey is ready to support this measure but that Washington must take the lead.