Syria Peace Negotiators Meet Kazakh President in Astana

Delegations from Iran, Russia and Turkey - three guarantors of the observance of a ceasefire regime in Syria - as well as representatives of the United Nations, Jordan and the US – observers of Astana talks - had a meeting with Nazarbayev in the Kazakh capital on Tuesday evening.

During the meeting, the Kazakh president highlighted his country’s efforts to host successful talks for peace in Syria, and expressed his views for the future of the process.

For his part, head of the Iranian delegation, Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari, hailed the progress in the implementation of a memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria over the past six months, calling for attention to all political, security and humanitarian aspects of the crisis in the Arab country.

In a joint statement at the conclusion of the Astana talks on Tuesday, Iran, Russia, and Turkey reaffirmed commitment to settling the crisis in Syria with political processes, emphasizing the need for the conflicting parties to take confidence building measures.

Diplomatic efforts to end fighting in Syria gained momentum in 2017 with the announcement of a ceasefire in the Arab country in early January.

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.