21st International meeting on Syria in Astana format kicks off in the Kazakh capital

The 21st International Meeting on Syria in Astana format kicked off on Wednesday in the Kazakh Capital Astana with the participation of the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic, led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Bassam Sabbagh, and the delegations of the guarantor states of Astana Process (Russia, Iran, and Turkey).

The Russian delegation is led by President Putin’s special envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, while the Iranian delegation is led by the Senior Assistant to the Iranian Foreign Minister for Special Political Affairs, Ali Asghar Khaji.

A UN delegation led by the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rushdi, in addition to representatives of neighboring countries: Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, who act as observers, are also participating in the 2-day event.

Representatives of the United Nations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross will attend the meeting.

Earlier, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said that the agenda of the meeting will discuss issues related to the regional situation around Syria, efforts to resolve the crisis, the humanitarian situation in the country and ways to mobilize the efforts of the international community to contribute to reconstruction.

Russian political analysts indicated that the international meeting will this time witness discussions on the latest developments in the situation in the region in the light of the continued Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip, the Israeli attacks on Syrian and Lebanese lands, as well as the continued American occupation of parts of Syrian lands and the plundering of the Syrian people’s wealth and natural resources.

Hamda Mustafa