BALADI NEWS
The guarantor states of the Astana process - Russia, Iran Turkey - failed on Friday to reach any decisions on issues placed on the agenda of the 13th round of talks, amid Russian-Iranian disputes on the Golan Heights, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper wrote.
The talks in Nur-Sultan took place in the presence of representatives from Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan, in the absence of UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.
Diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting “failed to reach the results that the guarantor states had hoped for.”
The three states postponed announcing the creation of a committee, which will be tasked with drafting a constitution for post-war Syria, instead, they agreed that the committee would be announced at the Russia-Iran-Turkey summit expected next month, according to the newspaper.
The three countries also disagreed on the implementation of the Sochi agreement reached on Sept. 17, 2018 between Turkey and Russia, and the withdrawal of fighters from the demilitarized zone in northwest Syria.
Also, a lengthy debate took place between the Russian and the Iranian delegations on the Golan, until the two states agreed on general terms, including “respecting and adhering to goals and principles of the UN Charter and the international resolutions, that reject occupying the Syrian Golan, mainly Resolution 497.”
In return, the guarantor states said they oppose the autonomous regions set up by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units in northern Syria, saying they threaten the security of neighboring countries, in reference to Turkey.
Source: Asharq Al-Awsat.