Latest Astana process talks establish de-escalation zones in war-torn Syria
May 7, 2017
ASTANA – The fourth round of the Astana Process talks on Syria on May 3-4 ended with the signing of a document envisaging the creation of four “de-escalation zones” on the ground where no military activity would be allowed, including by “aerial assets,” thus effectively introducing no-fly areas and adequate conditions for humanitarian access would be created.
The memorandum on that was signed by Russia, Turkey and Iran, the so called guarantor states to the ceasefire regime enacted by another agreement from Dec. 30, 2016. The parties also agreed to meet again in Astana in mid-July, which will be preceded by a technical meeting of military experts two weeks prior in Ankara.
The meeting was the latest in a series of talks among sides to the conflict in Syria. The talks have become known as the Astana Process and are meant to create conditions for the success in the more comprehensive peace talks in Geneva on the overall political settlement of the Syrian conflict.
Almaty-based political analyst Adil Kaukenov in an interview with the Kazinform national news agency on the eve of the talks noted that just getting the parties to the table in the wake of recent events should be considered a success.
