Kazakhstan declares 20th Astana meeting ‘final one’

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

The negotiating parties of Syria, Russia, Iran, and Turkiye announced that another meeting will take place later this year

Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Kanat Tumysh surprised attendants of the four-way meeting at the Astana summit on 21 June, declaring this round to be the finale of the quadrilateral talks between Turkiye, Russia, Iran, and Syria in the Kazakhstani capital city.

“Syria’s gradual emergence from isolation in the region could be regarded as a sign that the Astana process has completed its task,” he told reporters.

“Taking into account Syria’s return into the Arab League, we propose officially declaring the 20th meeting under the Astana process the final one.”

Deputy Foreign Ministers of the 4 countries met this week in Astana for the 20th time to discuss the situation on the ground.

Topics included the regional situation in Syria, the settlement of the Syrian conflict, counter-terrorism measures, hostage release, missing persons search, the humanitarian conditions in Syria, international efforts for post-conflict recovery, and the Syrian refugees’ return to their home country.

Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev retorted the statement, saying: “We cannot say that the Astana process is over, but if the Kazakh side has decided that they need to be moved to a different location, we will discuss that and pick one.”

He said that Russia, Turkiye, and Iran could take turns hosting those meetings.

At the end of the talks, the negotiating parties released a joint statement saying the next meeting will take place later this year.

Kazakhstan has been the primary host for these meetings since 2017, with varying results. One of the biggest moves announced in Astana was the partition of Syrian territories into de-escalation zones overseen by different countries.

According to the provisions of UNSC resolution 2254, Iran, Russia, and Turkiye would be designated as “Guarantors” of the observance of the ceasefire regime, overseeing certain locations across Syrian land.

During the Syrian civil war, several international initiatives for a peace settlement were proposed, yet the Astana process proved to be the only initiative that produced tangible results on the ground, as compared to the slow process of the UN-sponsored Geneva talks.