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Iran hopes Astana talks will lead to understanding

30 October 2017 16:36 (UTC+04:00)
Iran hopes Astana talks will lead to understanding

By Kamila Aliyeva

The seventh round of peace talks on Syria in Kazakh capital, Astana, will lead to the necessary mutual understanding between the three guarantor countries - Iran, Russia and Turkey.

This was stated by Iranian Foreign Ministry’s official representative Bahram Kasemi at a weekly briefing on October 30, IRNA reported.

“The expected results were achieved at the 6th round of the peace talks on Syria in Astana," he said.

Kasemi expressed hope that the process of negotiations in Astana would continue to take effective steps to assist the Syrian people and ensure regional security and stability.

Answering the question on whether the parties have reached an agreement on the boundaries of the ceasefire zones at the meeting, Kasemi said that the 7th round of the peace talks on Syria will focus on two issues - mine clearance and the exchange of prisoners.

The seventh international meeting on Syria kicked off in Astana on October 30.

During the talks, it is planned to approve the provision on a working group on the release of hostages, prisoners, the transfer of bodies of the dead and the search for missing persons, according to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry. The parties also intend to consider combating international terrorism and adopt a joint statement on humanitarian demining in Syria.

Astana talks, backed by Russia, Turkey and Iran, involve Kazakhstan - as an organizing country, sides to the Syrian conflict - governmental and opposition, and observers from the U.S., United Nations and Jordan.

To date, six rounds of negotiations on the ongoing Syrian conflict were held in Astana.

The sixth round of talks in Astana ended in September with the adoption of a joint statement confirming the intention of the parties to continue work on establishing de-escalation zones in Syria and other decisions previously adopted in the course of the Astana process.

Guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime - Russia, Turkey and Iran - had agreed on May 4 in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to establish "de-escalation zones" in war-torn Syria. The zones would cover the city of Idlib and certain parts of Latakia, Homs, Aleppo and Hama as well as Damascus, Eastern Ghouta, Daraa and Quneitra. The establishment of the fourth one in Idlib province was the spotlight of the sixth meeting in Astana.

De-escalation zones in Syria allowed to significantly reduce the scale of the conflict and contributed to the improvement of the humanitarian situation in Syria.

While the Astana process is separate from the UN’s Geneva talks on Syrian crisis, the attendance of the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura links the Kazakh platform to broader international efforts.

Syria has been locked in civil war since March 2011. According to UN's special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, around 400,000 people have died in the conflict while half the population has been driven from their homes.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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