Astana Guarantors Prepare for Virtual Trilateral Summit

Arab World

April 24th, 6:13am

Moscow - Raed Jaber

Syrian regime representatives and opposition delegates along with other attendees take part in Syria peace talks in Astana on December 22, 2017. Stanislav Filippov, AFP

The foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Tehran have agreed to hold a virtual summit of the guarantors of the Astana process to discuss upcoming steps in Syria and the work of the constitutional committee, which is on hold over the COVID-19 outbreak. During a video conference, the three ministers agreed to re-launch the joint work for a trilateral summit, which was scheduled in Tehran last March. The event was postponed due to the pandemic, although it is still on the agenda. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that work on preparations for the Russian-Turkish-Iranian summit on a Syrian settlement is in progress, while its date is yet to be agreed on. Sources told the Nezavisimaya Gazeta that the three countries expressed a desire not to hold a teleconference, but to meet in Tehran as planned. However, Russian circles believe that steps were taken to urgently hold the meeting given the possibility of a prolonged wait for containing the virus. During their teleconference, the Russian, Iranian and Turkish ministers reviewed the developments in Syria’s Idlib province where a ceasefire has been holding since early March as a result of the Ankara-Moscow deal. The Astana partners expressed their satisfaction with the reduced tensions in Idlib thanks to the Additional Protocol of March 5 to the Memorandum on Stabilization of the Situation in the Idlib De-escalation Area. They also discussed developments on the ground, particularly in Idlib and east of the Euphrates, the political process, humanitarian situation and the return of refugees. The parties stressed the importance of furthering the political process in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and expressed their desire that the third round of the Constitutional Committee meetings could be held the earliest possible. The Astana partners also agreed on the importance of increasing coordinated international efforts in light of the spread of the coronavirus in Syria. Separately, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a telephone conversation on Wednesday discussing the developments in Syria.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2250056/astana-guarantors-prepare-virtual-trilateral-summit