Today, Monday, November 11, the international meeting on Syria in the Astana format commenced with its 22nd round.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry stated in a press release that 11 delegations have arrived in the capital of Kazakhstan to participate in the meeting.
The Syrian regime’s government’s delegation is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Ayham Raed, while the Syrian opposition delegation is led by Ahmad Touma.
Delegations from the guarantor countries are also participating, with the Russian delegation represented by the Special Representative of the Russian President, Alexander Lavrentiev, the Turkish delegation represented by the Director of Political Relations at the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mustafa Yurdakul, and the Iranian delegation represented by the Assistant for Political Affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ali Asghar Khaji.
In addition, delegations representing Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq are participating as observers, along with representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Red Cross.
Discussions will be held today and tomorrow, Tuesday, culminating in a general session and a press conference with the participation of heads of delegations.
On November 8, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry set the date and agenda for the current round of Astana talks, with bilateral and trilateral consultations scheduled for the first day.
The agenda of the meeting will address developments in the Syrian file, efforts to achieve a comprehensive political solution in Syria, confidence-building measures, the issue of the missing, as well as the humanitarian situation, reconstruction, and the return of Syrian refugees.
Previous round earlier this year
The 21st round of the Astana process was held on January 25 of this year, with the participation of delegations from the guarantor countries (Russia, Turkey, and Iran), as well as delegations from the government and the opposition, and the presence of Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq as observers, along with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The participating parties at that time agreed to hold the 22nd round of negotiations regarding Syria in the capital of Kazakhstan in the second half of this year.
The Astana process began in January 2017, and throughout the previous 21 rounds, meetings have taken place with the presence of leaders from three countries, two of which are politically, militarily, and economically allied with the Syrian regime (Russia and Iran), and one which has sought since late 2022 to open the door for political rapprochement with it (Turkey), alongside representatives from the Syria regime’s government, the opposition, and observers.
Through this process, the participating countries have reached de-escalation agreements, which Russia continues to violate, and under which it has gained control over areas in Syria that were included in these agreements.