Astana Talks parties agree on Idlib zone borders

Trilateral meeting of high-ranking Iranian, Russian and Turkish delegates was held today on September 24 at the Rexus Hotel of Astana.

The three-hour session was attended by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari, Putin’s Special Envoy on Syrian Affairs Alexander Lavrentiev as well as Sedat Onal, the Head of Turkey’s mission to Astana Talks.

The parties, while discussing final status of the talks and finalizing agreements on the documents of the Sixth Astana International Conference, exchanged views on text of the final statement of the conference.

Under the agreement signed between the parties, the four de-escalation zones include parts of a number of Syrian provinces including areas of the province of Idlib, parts of Lattakia, Aleppo and Hamah provinces, areas of Daraa and Quneitra as well as areas in provinces of Homs, Damascus and the eastern Ghouta.

In the same vein, an official at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said participants at the sixth Astana Summit are currently examining the presence of observers in de-escalation zones in Adlib.

The meeting also agreed to hold the seventh round of Astana Talks in late October 2017.