Al-Monitor: There is a slight possibility of progress concerning the Syrian issue in the Astana track
Al-Monitor said in a report it published, “The recent Astana talks have a slight possibility of progress in the future on the Syrian issue.”
The site was surprised by the inclusion of a paragraph in the final statement that included a focus on continuing the war against “terrorism”, then a paragraph on the need to preserve peace on the ground, and then stressed the absence of a military solution to the Syrian crisis.
The report stated that the Astana process was launched to address the tasks that were not given attention in the Geneva process, but indications are that the Astana process has largely exceeded its usefulness, as this path has never been able to become a substitute for the Geneva process, by filling the agenda with political and military aspects.
The report pointed out that there are military issues that are increasingly raised in the bilateral negotiations between Russia and Turkey and that they are being implemented, without referring to the Astana track, and stressed that it is possible that a large exchange of prisoners between the Assad regime and the opposition is one of the ways to strengthen the Astana track at this stage.
It is worth noting that one of the important points achieved by the Astana track in its last 15 round is the transition from de-escalation to a comprehensive ceasefire in Idlib.
