Tabnak – New round of Syria peace talks, mediated by Iran, Russia and Turkey as three guarantors of Syrian ceasefire, ended today in Astana with a declaration calling for a national congress, among the other things. The sides also held various bilateral meetings at the sidelines of the talks.
In a statement at the conclusion of the 8th round of Syria peace talks in Astana, Iran, Russia, and Turkey reaffirmed commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and welcomed progress in implementation of a deal on de-escalation areas in the Arab country.
On the second day of the talks, the delegations also discussed three documents on the exchange of detainees, those kidnapped and the bodies of those killed in the six-year conflict.
Humanitarian demining operation in Syria as well as issuing the final statement of the meeting were also on the agenda of the second day of the talks. When finalized, the exchange document will be regarded as a major step by Iran and other parties to the talks to help negotiate an end to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
The three guarantor states also announced that they have decided to hold the next round of high-level International Meeting on Syria crisis in Kazakhstan's capital in the second half of February 2018.
At the sidelines of the negotiations, Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations and head of the government delegation to intra-Syrian peace talks, Bashar al-Jaafari, said the US and Turkish military forces should leave his conflict-plagued Arab country immediately.
On October 13, Turkish troops travelling in a convoy of 12 armored vehicles entered northern Syria in a new military operation. Turkish media sources said the convoy included about 80 soldiers.
The development came after Turkish officials said they were sending troops into Syria to enforce a de-escalation zone in Idlib, which is largely controlled by the Takfiri Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist alliance.
Also at the sidelines, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs held bilateral meetings with Syrian officials on Thursday. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the latest developments in Syria and discussed outlooks of holding intra-Syrian dialogue to peacefully settle the Syrian crisis and also the agenda of the 8th round of Astana talks.
It should be noted that Last week, the eighth round of UN-backed Syria peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, ended without progress. UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan De Mistura, described the talks as a missed opportunity.
Previous rounds of Geneva negotiations have failed to achieve results, mainly due to the opposition’s insistence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should cede power.
