A wave of mainly Syrian refugees has overwhelmed European countries and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced on Wednesday plans to distribute about 120,000 additional asylum seekers. But meanwhile, the US, which has been shielded from the situation due to its geographic advantages, continued to wrestle with Russia over the Syrian issue.

Amid recent allegations of a Russian military buildup in Syria, the US asked Bulgaria and Greece to deny permission to Russian military transport planes bound for Syria to fly over their territories. US Secretary of State John Kerry even called his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, warning that Russian actions could "risk confrontation" with the US-led coalition.

The burgeoning refugee crisis has prompted reflection. It is rooted in the attempt by the US and its Western allies to topple the Assad regime, which has plunged the country into long-term chaos and fostered the rampant Islamic State (IS). More than four years of civil war has killed more than 300,000 Syrian people, displaced over 7.6 million and made 4 million flee the war-torn country.

However, even in face of such a complex and turbulent situation, concerns for their own geopolitical interests seem to still remain the priority of relevant parties and none of them wants to seek a long-term solution. European countries had been strongly against opening their doors to refugees until pictures showing the 3-year-old Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi, who drowned as his family were fleeing to Europe shocked the globe, but still some EU members oppose the quotas proposed by the European Commission. Washington, which initiated the chaos in Syria, apparently remains reluctant to take refugees or modify its policy on Syria. However, the truth is, selfish calculations and letting the situation in Syria deteriorate will not be good for anybody.

To lift Syria out of its current plight requires stability to prevail. Political consultations are needed to resolve the conflicts and get the country back on track.

An opinion poll by the BBC found that 57 percent of those questioned in Syria think the country is heading in the wrong direction and the majority of the respondents consider the IS is a product of foreign countries. The reality has well-proved that no relevant parties have benefited from the tragedy in Syria and seeking political solution through peace talks seems to be the only way. It is time to lay aside this self-centered wrangling to put an end to the turbulence in Syria.