Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Russia, Iran and Turkey continue their work on terms for a new round of talks on Syrian crisis in Astana, TASS reported referring to Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

"The guarantor countries of the Astana process - Russia, Iran and Turkey - are working on new terms for the next round of the international meeting on Syria in Astana, and there are active consultations on the issue of coordinating a package of documents related to the implementation of the memorandum of May 4," she said.

Four rounds of negotiations on the ongoing Syrian conflict were held in the Astana, on January 23-24, February 15-16, March 14-15 and May 3-4.

During the most recent round, the guarantor countries of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime — Russia, Iran, and Turkey — agreed to establish four safety zones across the country.

The civil war in Syria between government and opposition with various terrorist groups involved, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), began back in March 2011.

Syrian President Bashar Assad managed to turn the tide of war in his favor after Russia started an air campaign in September 2015, while Iran is an uncompromising supporter of the Syrian leader.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

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

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