Iran to host Astana meeting on Syria early next year

By Muhammad Kursun

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran unveiled plans on Wednesday to host the next round of Astana meeting on the Syrian crisis.
In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the meeting will take place early next year in the capital Tehran. The exact date of the meeting was not stated.
According to the ministry, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia and Iran — the guarantor countries — will attend the meeting to discuss ways of solving the Syrian crisis.
Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters with unexpected ferocity.
The Astana peace process to end the conflict was launched in Kazakhstan in January 2017 at the initiative of Turkey, Russia and Iran.
Meetings of Astana guarantors have also contributed to the advancement of the UN-led diplomatic process in Geneva.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar