Syrian Arab Republic Delegation to Astana 7 Meeting Holds Consultations with Russian, Iranian Delegations

ASTANA–  The seventh  round of talks on Syria in Astana has kicked off with the participation of the Syrian Arab Republic delegation headed by Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari.

According to SANA, the Syrian Arab Republic delegation has started a  meeting with the Russian delegation headed by the Russian president special envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev.

Earlier, the Republic’s delegation held a meeting with the Iranian delegation headed by Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari.

 Bilateral and trilateral meetings are scheduled to be held among the participant delegations during the 2-day Astana meeting, while the plenary meeting will be held tomorrow afternoon.

Guarantor states: Work of de-escalation zones in Syria positive

Russia, Iran and Turkey, the guarantor states of the cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria, have assessed as “positive” the work of the de-escalation zones in Syria.

Russian Interfax News Agency on Monday quoted a source close to Astana-7 meeting as saying that the de-escalation zones showed noticeable effectiveness over the past period as they all enjoy peace and everything in these areas goes well.

The guarantor states signed the Russian memorandum on de-escalation zones during the plenary session of the Astana 4 meeting held in Kazakh’s capital of Astana with the participation of the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic headed by Bashar al-Jaafari and other delegations.

Lavrentiev: We Held Constructive Talks with Syrian Arab Republic Delegation

 Russian president’s special envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev reaffirmed that Astana meetings on Syria aim to achieve stability in all areas in the country.

Lavrentiev remarks came in a press conference following a meeting with the Syrian Arab Republic delegation headed by Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari in the framework of Astana 7th meeting on Monday.

“We held constructive talks with the Syrian Arab Republic delegation and there was a full understanding by its side,” said Lavrentiev.

He was confident that the current round of negotiations will be successful, and will offer an opportunity for “laying the groundwork for future rounds of talks”.

Lavrentiev noted that he touched upon an increase in trust among the Syrian sides, adding that issues of the detainees, kidnapped people , and de-mining  require a rather thorough coordination and a number of legal measures.

“We strongly encourage the opposition to absolutely abandon, as we believe, incorrect preconditions for joining the negotiation process.” Said Lavrentiev

Lavrentiev noted that Moscow has recently launched an initiative on holding a conference for Syrian national dialogue focusing on the dialogue among the Syrians, national reconciliation and the political solution for crisis, adding that it is unclear where the conference would take place or when and that is still under discussion.

He indicated that there will be more active participation of the Syrian Kurds in the national dialogue and the political settlement process for crisis in Syria, adding that the Syrian government expressed readiness to discuss all issues in the framework of political consensus of the country.

The Syrian leadership has voiced interest in the political process moving forward and finding ways for national reconciliation, the Russian envoy said referring to his visit to Syria recently and his meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.