Delegations from Turkey, Russia and Iran have met Tuesday in Kazakhstan’s capital Nur Sultan for the 17th meeting of the Astana process that aims to find a solution to the decadelong crisis in Syria.
Within the scope of the Astana talks, bilateral and trilateral meetings are being held.
The Turkish delegation is headed by the foreign ministry’s Syria Director General Selçuk Ünal while Russia is being represented through the country's special envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, Iran by Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior adviser to the Iranian foreign minister on special political affairs, and the Syrian opposition by Ahmet Toma.
Khawla Mattar, deputy special representative of the United Nations to Syria is also attending the talks while Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon are participating as observers.
The Turkish delegation’s first meeting was with the United Nations delegation.
The talks are scheduled to take place two days and will address several issues including the current situation, the transfer of humanitarian aid, the launching of the Syrian constitutional committees works in Geneva, the exchange of prisoners, the release of hostages and further confidence-building measures.
The Astana meeting was initiated by Turkey, Iran and Russia to bring the warring sides in Syria together to find a permanent solution to the decade-long war. The main agenda items have been the constitutional system, political transition, security and resettlement. The first Astana meeting was held in Turkey in January 2017 to facilitate U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.
A Security Council resolution adopted in December 2015 unanimously endorsed a road map to peace in Syria that was approved in Geneva on June 30, 2012, by representatives of the U.N., the Arab League, the European Union, Turkey and all five permanent Security Council members – the U.S., Russia, China, France and Britain.
It calls for a Syrian-led political process starting with the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. The resolution says the free and fair elections should meet “the highest international standards” of transparency and accountability, with all Syrians – including members of the diaspora – eligible to participate.
Speaking ahead of the meeting to journalists, Lavrentiev said that the Russian delegation would focus primarily on the situation on the ground as well as the establishment of a cease-fire.
He added that terrorist cells of Daesh and other groups have recently started to become active again.
“We will give priority to this issue in our meetings with both our Turkish and Iranian partners.”
Drawing attention to the importance of advancing the political process in Syria in order to overcome issues such as the refugee problem, the release of the detainees, and the humanitarian crisis, Lavrentiev said, "The work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee will also be one of the most important agenda items of the talks. We had a productive meeting with the Syrian (regime) delegation on this issue." he said.
