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ISTANBUL: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Islamic Republic will soon host a virtual conference on the situation in Syria and the Arab country’s peace process as agreed by the three guarantor countries in the Kazakh capital.
Zarif made the remarks while speaking in a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Istanbul on Monday.
“This meeting will be held to help realize peace in Syria within framework of the Astana agreement,” Iran’s foreign minister said.
Foreign Ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey in April emphasized the need to continue consultations and coordination among the three guarantors of the Astana process as the most effective format for the settlement of the crisis in Syria.
Iran’s Zarif, Russia’s Sergei Lavrov and Turkey’s Cavusoglu conferred on a range of issues, including the situation in the militant-held province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, the Syria Constitutional Committee, the need for the lifting of unilateral sanctions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the humanitarian situation in Syria and repatriation of refugees to the Arab country.
A first deal was signed in Kazakhstan’s capital Nur Sultan, formerly called Astana, arranging for the creation of de-escalation zones across Syria, including in parts of Idlib. The second one that came about in the Russian resort city of Sochi allowed Ankara to bring in a small number of forces to man the observation posts to reinforce de-escalation.
Ankara has, however, been found in default of both the deals by failing to separate terrorists from what it calls “moderate” opposition groups in the Idlib zone and by sending thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into the province in an unprecedented incursion to back the militants.
