Pedersen: We will focus in Astana talks on political process and de-escalation

The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, tweeted that he will urge all parties in the Astana talks to stop the escalation, contain the situation, and focus on the political process.

Pedersen reiterated in his tweet the UN Secretary-General’s concerns about the escalation and its impact on civilians, calling on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, maintain various ceasefires agreed, and respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Geir Pedersen will participate in the “Astana 19” meeting, in the Kazakhstan’s capital, Nur-Sultan, scheduled to be held on Tuesday and continue until tomorrow, with the participation of representatives of the guarantor countries (Russia, Turkey, and Iran), and delegations from the Assad regime and the opposition, in addition to observers from Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, and representatives of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, announced earlier that the Secretary-General “expresses his deep concern about reports about the repercussions of hostilities on civilians, and calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and avoid regional escalation.”