The military opposition, the Bashar al-Assad regime, the delegations of Turkey, Russia, Iran and the United States gathered yesterday in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, to stop the clashes in Syria. Muhammad Allush, chairman of the opposition delegation by attending to the talks and said, "We will not go through the second step unless a ceasefire is reached." Opponents want the regime forces to withdraw from the territories they captured during the ceasefire, to open a human corridor to the besieged territories, and to release political prisoners.
Caferi represents the regime
Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Sedat Önal, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, Hüseyin Cabir Aysari, the US delegation is headed by Ambassador to Astana George Krol. On behalf of the Russian side, President Vladimir Putin's Special Representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev and Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov will take part in the talks. The negotiations are on behalf of the Assad regime, the representative of the United Nations, Besar al-Jafari.
Consultant group of 40 people
The advisory group of about 40 people who are in Astana but do not attend the meeting is backed by the delegation. The meeting is attended by Special Representative of Syria, Turkey, Russia, Iran, USA and UN Secretary General, Staffan de Mistura. Turkey and Russia have limited the number of participating countries for productive negotiations.
15 OPPOSITIONAL SOLDIERS
On behalf of the opponents, a military delegation of 14 seats was sitting. (Feylaku’ş Şam),(Ceyşü’lİzza) (Şüheda el-İslam), (Ceyşü’l Mücahidin), (Ecnadü’l Şam), (Tecemmu Festakim), (Ec-Cephe eş-Şamiye), (Ceyşü’lİdlib el-Hur), (Ceyşü’l İslam), (Ec-Cephe ec-Cenubiye).
The military opposition, the Bashar al-Assad regime, the delegations of Turkey, Russia, Iran and the United States gathered yesterday in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, to stop the clashes in Syria. Muhammad Allush, chairman of the opposition delegation by attending to the talks and said, "We will not go through the second step unless a ceasefire is reached."
In the delegation also has MIT and General Staff officials who have participated in the Ankara meeting, in which opponents "decided to join Astana". At the head of the Russian delegation is the Director of the Middle East Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sergey Varsinin. The UN Secretary General's Special Representative to Syria Staffan and Mistura came to Astana together with their technical delegation.
Firsts in Astana
Turkey, which is a guarantor on behalf of the dissenters who are declared ceasefire on 30 December in Syria, is leading the meeting with Russia in Astana. One of the most important aspects of the meeting in Astana is that the Syrian military opposition has made the largest participation in talks since the beginning of the civil war. On the other side, some groups, such as Ahrar al-sham who come to Astana, are in full compliance with the ceasefire.
WHAT'S ON AGENDA
- It is targeted that the ceasefire in Astana, which was originally put into effect on December 30, 2016, excluding Fatah El-Sam, which is linked to DEAŞ and al-Qaeda, will become permanent.
- It is also expected that more confidence-building measures between the parties will be passed on, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the areas under siege is expected.
- It is also aimed at exchanging views on a roadmap of how the political transition process can be initiated at the meeting.