UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2023) High-level Astana-format meetings on Syria are expected to be held in the second half of 2023, but no dates have been set yet, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told reporters.
"High-level meetings of the Astana format are held regularly, and such meetings are also planned for the second half of this year. No specific dates have been set yet," Vershinin said.
The Astana format is a positive element in stabilizing the situation on the Syrian settlement and in the region as a whole, the diplomat said.
"There are positive developments around Syria in general, primarily in terms of normalizing relations between the Syrian Arab Republic and other countries of the region, something which can only be welcomed," Vershinin said, adding that "important meetings at the level of defense ministers and deputy foreign ministers" in the four-party format involving Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria have been held.
The deputy minister noted "good dynamics" and expressed the hope that a higher-level meeting may be arranged "in the nearest future."
The war in Syria has been going on since 2011, with President Bashar Assad's forces fighting various armed insurgent groups. In 2017, Russia, Turkey and Iran launched a mediation group on the Syrian settlement in Astana. In January 2018, the Russian city of Sochi hosted a congress of the Syrian national dialogue, the first such attempt since the start of the conflict to gather an inclusive pool of Syrian political forces. The main result of the Congress was the decision to create a Constitutional Committee, which operates in Geneva and whose main task is to prepare a constitutional reform in Syria.
