The 21st round of Astana meeting on Syria launches in Kazakhstan
The 21st round of Astana talks on Syria began early on Wednesday, 24 January 2024 with the participation of delegations from the guarantor states.
Before launching the meeting, Russia’s special envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, said: “There is a great importance to Astana meeting for settlement in Syria amid the tensions in the Middle East.”
Lavrentiev emphasized that “Astana meeting is increasingly important amid the worrying events in the world and escalating the tensions in the Middle East.”
According to Lavrentiev, the Astana meetings came at the request of the guarantor states (Russia, Turkey, and Iran) with the aim of preserving the Syrian settlement track.
Lavrentiev pointed out that this round is also an opportunity to discuss many issues, including the tensions on the Syrian-Jordanian and Syrian-Iraqi borders, especially with ISIS returning to its activity.
Lavrentiev considered that the illegal US military presence in Syria disrupts the settlement, especially in light of the current circumstances in the Middle East.
The previous round was held last June and focused on “rebuilding confidence” files, which include the issues of prisoners and improving the conditions to facilitate the voluntary returns of refugees in areas which are not controlled by Assad regime, including opening the international routes according to previous agreements.
