Russia, Turkey and Iran will meet next 28 and 29 days in Astana
The countries guaranteeing the ceasefire decreed in December 2016 in Syria, Russia, Turkey and Iran, will meet on the 28th and 29th days in the Kazakh capital, a little more than a month after the Russian-Turkish pact that established a demilitarized zone in the north of the country and that stopped the government offensive in the Idlib region.
"The guarantor countries of the Astana process, Russia, Turkey and Iran, agreed to hold the eleventh high-level international meeting on Syria on November 28 and 29, said today the Kazakh Foreign Minister, Kairat Abdrajmanov.
At the meeting, the guarantor countries will address the situation in Idlib, the creation of the necessary conditions to facilitate the return of refugees and the possibility of holding an international conference on this issue, as well as the reconstruction of Syria once an agreement has been reached end the conflict.
According to Abdrajmanov, as far as reconstruction is concerned, it is a matter of speaking first of the socio-economic development of Syria and of the measures that should be taken in humanitarian matters.
The representatives of Jordan and the UN are invited as observers to the meeting.
According to the head of Kazakh diplomacy, according to the initial information he manages in Astana, will be the team of the special envoy for Syria of the UN, Staffan de Mistura, who will leave his post at the end of the month after four years of efforts to forge a peace agreement in the Arab country.
The Norwegian diplomat Geir Pedersen will succeed the Italian-Swedish in the position of mediator of the UN.
Last November 15 a month has passed since the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreement that stipulated the creation of a demilitarized zone around the northern province of Idlib.
In that area, which also covers areas of the neighboring provinces of Aleppo and Latakia, moderate rebel factions, but not jihadists, have withdrawn.
The entry into force of the agreement between Russia and Turkey temporarily halted the government offensive on Idlib, but has not prevented collisions between insurgents and government forces.
Idlib is the only region in Syria that is still almost entirely controlled by rebel and Islamist factions.
The Astana process began in January 2017 and within its framework the guarantor countries address the military aspect of a solution in Syria such as the ceasefire and the demilitarized zones.
At the same time, a political solution is being sought in Geneva under the auspices of the UN.
