Astana talks aim to bring lasting peace to Syria: Iran

A senior Iranian diplomat says the forthcoming Syria peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana are aimed at finding possible ways to establish sustainable peace in the conflict-stricken state and put an end to its nearly six-year crisis.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari, who is heading the Iranian delegation to the Syria peace talks, made the comments in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) channel upon his arrival in Astana on Saturday.

“The aim of this visit is to attend the Syria peace negotiations in the Kazakh capital of Astana with the purpose of [enforcing] a lasting ceasefire in Syria and preparing the ground for serious talks about sustainable peace between the Syrian government and the opposition groups,” Jaberi Ansari said.

He added that Iran would participate in the Astana talks “with full readiness.”

The two-day talks, mediated by Iran, Russia, and Turkey, are to involve the representatives of the Syrian government and opposition to discuss a potential solution to the conflict in Syria. The negotiations will start on Monday.

The negotiations exclude the Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terrorist groups.

The Iranian diplomat said the Islamic Republic has always emphasized that the Syrian crisis has no military solution and “must be solved through peaceful means and political and serious talks.”

“The continuation of the Syrian crisis will have no result but the killing [of people] and the destruction of a Muslim country,” he added.

He expressed hope that the Astana talks will be a watershed in resolving the Syrian conflict.

The Astana talks will be addressing issues such as the further stabilization of the all-Syria ceasefire, effective confrontation with terrorism, and intra-Syrian dialog toward the achievement of a political solution to the crisis.

Iran-Russia negotiations on Syria

The Iranian and Russian delegations to the Syrian peace talks held a meeting in Astana on Saturday. A Turkish delegation is also scheduled to join the talks.

Coordination between Iran, Russia, and Turkey helped bring about an agreement on the evacuation of militants in the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo late last year. A ceasefire was also negotiated for the city, and, as the agreement held, the way was paved for its extension to the entire country.

Foreign-sponsored militancy began in Syria in 2011. Substantive financial, political, and ideological support was offered to the militants by the countries opposed to the Syrian government, most notably the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.