Islam Times - Iran Hosts Expert-Level Meeting on Syria Peace Talks

Islam Times - Representatives of the guarantor states of the Astana process on Syria started on Tuesday an expert-level meeting in Tehran.

The two-day meeting will discuss the issue of the ceasefire and the de-escalation zones, in addition to discussing a number of issues by the deputy foreign ministers of the three guarantor states of the Astana meeting namely Russia, Turkey and Iran, which will be held later this month in Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov stressed on Tuesday that the preparations for Astana 6 meeting on Syria are ongoing, indicating that the meeting will be held in late August.

Minister Abdrakhmanov was quoted by TASS Agency as saying in statements to journalists that the agenda of the international talks in Astana on the settlement of the crisis in Syria will be defined at the meeting of guarantor states in Tehran.

“As it had been planned before, a meeting of experts from guarantor states is held these days in Tehran, and the agenda for the next round of talks in Astana will be defined based on the results of this meeting,” Abdrakhmanov added.

The 5th round of Astana talks on Syria concluded in early July with stress on the integrity and stability of the Syrian territories.

The first round of the Astana talks, organized by guarantor states took place on January 23-24 and brought together representatives from the Damascus government and opposition groups.

The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, with the government of President Bashar al Assad blaming some Western states and their regional allies of backing Takfiri terrorists wreaking havoc in the country.