Al-Jaafari: Mechanisms of Implementing Agreement on De-Escalation Zones in Syria Core Topic of Astana 5 Consultative Meetings

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, (ST)- Head of the Syrian Arab Republic’s delegation to Astana 5 meeting on Syria, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, announced Tuesday that the delegation is still discussing mechanisms relating to implementing the agreement on de-escalation zones in Syria.

In a press conference on Tuesday in the Kazakh capital Astana, al-Jaafari said “we are still holding diplomatic talks to achieve rapprochement of stances and obtain common principles to focus on in order to build a unified stance. We are still at the beginning, we haven’t finished discussing the mechanisms relating to implementing the agreement on the de-escalation zones in Syria.”

 He added that the delegation spent the day long in talks with the Russian and Iranian delegations to discuss the implementation of the de-escalation zones agreement.

“The meetings we held today dealt with this issue because the core topic of Astana fifth round of talks, being held on July 4-5, is the mechanism of implementing the de-escalation zones agreement reached in the last Astana meeting.

 Consultative Meetings with Russian, Iranian Delegations

Earlier in the day, within the framework of Astana fifth round of talks on Syria, the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic led by Dr. Bashar Al-Jaafari held consultative meetings with the Russian delegation led by Director of  Russian Foreign Ministry’s Middle East and North Africa Department Sergey Vershinin and with head of the Iranian delegation led by Assistance Foreign Minister Hussein Jaberi Ansar

Consultations focused on the agenda of Astana 5.

The Iranian delegation held a meeting with the Russian delegation and another meeting with the Turkish side dealing with the memo on de-escalation zones in Syria.

The guarantor states of the cessation of hostilities in Syria (Russia, Iran and Turkey) held two rounds of talks at the experts level dealing with the borders and maps of the de-escalation zones.

Head of the press office at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry Anwar Jiankov said that a plenary session is due to be held tomorrow.

He was quoted by the Kazakh news agency as saying that all the delegations participating in the Astana talks arrived on in the Kazakh capitals, including nine representatives of the “armed opposition” in addition to the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

The delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic as well as the Russian and Iranian delegations arrived yesterday to Astana to take part in Astana 5 meeting on Syrian settlement.

Hamda Mustafa