19th Astana meeting discuss Syria crisis in Kazakhstan

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The 19th international meeting on Syria in the Astana format was held in Kazakhstan’s capital on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by delegations from Russia, Türkiye, Iran, the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and the Syrian opposition.

On Nov. 14, a Kazakh Foreign Ministry official had said that the meeting would discuss the situation in Syria, the promotion of Syria’s political process, and the international community’s mobilization of efforts in line with UN Security Council resolutions.

As observers, representatives of the UN, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq are also present in the meeting, which is sent to end on Wednesday.

Speaking to the press before the talks begin, Russian Special Representative to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said that bilateral and trilateral meetings will be held throughout the day to discuss ways to stabilize the situation in Syria.

"Our priority is the situation in Idlib and the northeast of the Euphrates," Lavrentiev said.

The second day of the talks will focus on further consultations, followed by a press conference, Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aybek Smadiyarov said.

The Astana format talks were launched in 2017 in a bid to restore peace and stability in the Arab country, which has been ravaged by war since 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

The last Astana format talks on Syria were held this June.