The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Russia urged all sides involved in the Syrian crisis to step up efforts to find a "political solution" for the war-torn Arab country.
Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif, Turkey's Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Russia's Sergey Lavrov held the latest round of the so-called Astana peace process in the Kazakh capital on Friday, IRNA reported.
In a joint statement released after the meeting, the tripartite called for continuing "the effective interaction that would have positive effect on the situation in Syria and the entire region and reduce the risk of ethnic and sectarian divide."
The three sides also emphasized that the Astana format and its achievements had become an effective instrument for contributing to peace and stability in Syria.
***Turning Point
Zarif described the peace process as a "turning point" in the seven-year-old Syrian crisis that could bring about "significant achievements".
"At the start of the Astana peace process, terrorists had large parts of Syria under their control, but today Syria and its allies have achieved great victories in defeating terrorist groups like Daesh [the self-styled Islamic State] and Al-Nusra Front," he said.
In the same vein, the three countries vowed in their joint statement to continue their coordinated efforts with a view to ensuring that the progress would lead to a reduction in violence and the eradication of terrorist groups.
The three foreign ministers "reaffirmed their determination to continue their cooperation to ultimately eliminate Daesh, Al-Nusra Front and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaeda or Daesh as designated by the UN Security Council."
Besides, Zarif, Lavrov, and Cavusoglu "underscored the need to ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to areas affected by the ongoing conflict."
The parties "expressed their concern with the ongoing violations of the ceasefire regime, and declared that, as guarantors of the ceasefire regime, they would step up their efforts to ensure observance of the respective agreements," the statement added.
The statement adds that a trilateral summit would also be held in Turkey on April 4.
The talks in Astana are parallel to a separate UN-backed conference on the future of Syria in the Swiss city of Geneva— a process that has failed to break the deadlock between the opposition and the Syrian government.
The main achievement of the Astana talks was the creation of four de-escalation zones where rebels and government forces should halt hostilities.
