Tehran, Iran, February 17
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The three sides of Iran, Russia, and Turkey meeting in Kazakhstan’s Astana to discuss the ongoing situation in Syria, have drafted a document over a joint committee tasked with safeguarding a current ceasefire in the country.
Strengthening the ceasefire, promoting trust-building measures by the conflicting Syrian sides, as well as discussing any issues that would help Syrian-Syrian talks are among the missions of the committee, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari, who had attended the Astana talks on behalf of Iran, told the IRIB on February 16.
This is the second meeting in Astana over the ongoing Syrian conflict. Last month the city hosted Syrian government and opposition and thethree regional powers as observers, where the sides talked about how to make the current truce hold.
The conflict started in 2011, when opposition in Syria started to become active against the government. The presense of the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) terrorist group was making matters worse.
Iran and Russia supported the Syrian government from the start. In mid-2016, they were joined by Turkey, which formerly used to back a Saudi-led campaign against the Syrian government.
Jaberi Ansari said that the first step of the Astana talks have been taken right, expressing hope over the future of the meetings. He added the next Astana meeting over Syria will be held in less than a month.