Iran, Russia and Turkey underscored the importance of the de-escalation zones in war-torn Syria on Tuesday, reiterating that they are temporary and do not undermine the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The de-escalation areas play a key role in maintaining the ceasefire regime, reducing the level of violence and stabilizing the overall situation in Syria, representatives of the three countries said in a joint statement issued at the end of the ninth round of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, which began on Monday.
“The creation of these areas is a temporary measure that under no circumstances undermines the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria,” read the statement carried by Tasnim News Agency.
Hossein Jaberi-Ansari, a special assistant to foreign minister, represented Iran in the talks, while Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president’s special envoy for Syrian affairs, led his country’s delegation. Turkey’s top negotiator was Sedat Onal, deputy undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry.
Also present were representatives from the Syrian government, who, like the rebels, participate in the meetings but do not sign joint statements, according to Reuters.
In 2017, the trio agreed to help reduce violence on the ground by creating de-escalation zones across Syria, to which troops and observers have been deployed.
The plan has eased fighting in parts of the country between rebel factions and government forces, but critics have described it as de facto partitioning of Syria after years of multi-sided conflict. Moscow, Tehran and Ankara deny this and say the zones are not permanent.
Humanitarian Aid
The statement underlined the need to encourage efforts that will help restore normalcy and peace in Syria.
To this end, immediate, safe and unrestricted access to deliver the necessary medical aid and humanitarian assistance should be ensured, it added, calling for concrete steps toward “safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their original places of residence as well as free movement of the local population.”
UN Initiative
They also voiced their determination to continue working with the United Nations to help advance the process of political settlement.
Besides the Astana talks, UN-sponsored negotiations have been held in Geneva in search of an overall political solution to end the seven-year bloody conflict that has cut short the lives of at least half a million people.
In addition, the statement reaffirmed the necessity to "continue joint efforts aimed at building confidence between the conflicting parties in Syria".
Working Group
They welcomed the convening of the second meeting of the working group on detainees, abductees and the handover of bodies, announcing that the next meeting of the group on Syria will be held in Ankara in June. Russia, Iran and Turkey began regular talks on the Syrian conflict in the Kazakh capital — which is not involved in the Syrian war—in early 2017. The eighth round of Astana talks was held in late December.
Next Round
It was agreed on Tuesday that the next high-level international meeting on Syria be held in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi in July, not in Astana like the previous meetings.
The reason for the change in location for the next talks was not known.
"We understand that this looks rather strange, but...taking into account the situation on the ground, the new realities, we would like to give new momentum to further work, shifting the focus more towards the political and humanitarian components," Russia's envoy on Syria told reporters in Astana, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
"The Astana process will continue. Sochi is just a venue. This does not mean the process in Astana, where it started, will cease to exist," Lavrentiev said, according to Kyrgyz news agency AkIpress. The Syrian rebels said they would boycott the talks due to Russia's role as host.
3 Presidents to Meet
Lavrentiev also said the Iranian, Russian and Turkish presidents are likely to meet on Syria in late August or early September, IRNA said on Wednesday, citing Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. It was previously announced that the meeting would be held in Tehran.
On the sidelines of the latest three-way meeting in Astana on Tuesday, senior officials from Iran and the UN agreed to continue consultations to help forge a cessation of hostilities in the Arab state.
Jaberi-Ansari and UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura discussed the latest developments, saying that confidence-building measures should be taken by all parties to the conflict.
