Al-Jaafari: Astana Meeting to Test Credibility of Other Participants and Their Masters

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, (ST)-Every meeting that serves Syria’s national interest is important to the Syrian government, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, Head of the Syrian Arab Republic’s delegation to Astana talks on Syria, has stressed.

In a statement to reporters on board of the plane that transported the Syrian delegation to Astana, al-Jaafari said “each event has its own particularity and agenda. Building up on the results of each meeting can lead us at the end to the shore of safety.”

On hopes pinned on the meeting, al-Jaafari said “it is early to expect. We have instructions to participate positively in the talks,  to listen to others’ views and to convey our official and public viewpoint to the participants.”

He added that the meeting has an agenda which focuses on several points that will hopefully pave the way for political solution. These points include maintaining the cessation of hostilities, dissociating terrorist groups, like Daesh and Jabhat all-Nusra, from other groups that joined the cessation of hostilities or accepted to come to Astana meeting and reaching a common ground regarding the fight against terrorism, according to al-Jaafari.

 “The meeting will test the credibility of other participants and their masters,” al-Jaafari stressed.

The Syrian diplomat went on to say  that the talks are Syrian-Syrian whether they are held in Astana, Geneva, Moscow or any other place. He urged the U.S. to play more positive role and be more involved in pushing towards finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

“”The Turkish side is not a party in the talks. The meeting is a Syrian-Syrian dialogue without foreign interference or preconditions except for the common denominators that we talked about and which are supposed to be included in the agenda,” said al-Jaafari.

He stressed that Turkey keeps violating the Syrian sovereignty, supports the terrorist organizations and hinders peaceful solution, “so for us there is no Syria-Turkish dialogue at a government level.”

Al-Jaafari concluded by saying that many of the participating armed groups are backed by and they get orders from countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United States, Britain and France.

Hamda Mustafa