Syria talks start in Astana amid growing regional fears

Two-day meeting in Astana aimed at ending Syrian conflict will address developments in de-escalation zones, release of captives and forming a constitutional committee.

A general view of the closing session of the eighth round of talks on Syria in Astana, Kazakhstan on December 22, 2017. (File photo)
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A general view of the closing session of the eighth round of talks on Syria in Astana, Kazakhstan on December 22, 2017. (File photo)

Negotiators from Iran, Russia and Turkey gathered in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on Monday, hoping to make progress on a political settlement in Syria as diplomatic tensions fan out across the region.

The two-day talks are the first time the three foreign powers most deeply involved in Syria's seven-year war have met together since Iran and Israel became embroiled in a spat over reported cross-border military strikes last week.

It is also the first meeting of the three sides since US President Donald Trump announced Washington's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this month in a move further complicating the regional picture.

Resolving crisis

The latest negotiations in Kazakhstan are set to discuss "further steps to advance the process of resolving the crisis" in Syria, according to a Kazakh foreign ministry statement.

Latest developments in the de-escalation zones, releases of captives and hostages, and forming a constitutional committee will be on the agenda.

A spokesman for Kazakhstan's foreign ministry Anuar Zhainakov on Monday confirmed delegations from the three power-brokers and the Syrian regime had arrived in the capital and were locked in closed-door talks.

A rebel delegation was expected to arrive late on Monday ahead of Tuesday's plenary session concluding the meeting, he wrote on Telegram.

The UN envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura was also expected in the capital on Monday, Zhainakov wrote.

The Turkish delegation is chaired by the deputy undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Sedat Onal, while Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian president's special envoy for Syria, leads his delegation; Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari heads the Iranian delegation.

Failed attempts in Syrian crisis

Since negotiations on Syria in Astana began at the beginning of last year, they have mostly focused on attempts to keep Syrian regime forces and their rebel opponents at arm's length.

But any limited achievements in reducing regime-rebel hostilities were put into reverse gear in February when regime forces allied with Moscow and Tehran began a devastating assault on eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus that was under rebel control at the time.

On Friday, Syrian regime media and The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor both said that the last rebel groups had exited towns close to the capital.

Their departure means that militants from Daesh fighting on the outskirts of Damascus are now the main challenge to regime control over the capital and its surrounding area.

Iran-Israel tensions

The multisided conflict that has killed more than 350,000 people took a new turn last week after Israel and Iran became embroiled in a dispute over reported cross-brder strikes.

Israel claims it struck dozens of Iranian targets inside Syria on Thursday in response to a salvo of rockets fired by Iranian forces into the occupied Golan Heights.

The flare-up between the pair may feature in talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.

But the main focus of the Moscow talks will be the Iran nuclear deal Washington walked out of earlier this month, triggering broad international condemnation and fears of fresh conflicts in the region.

Zarif has already visited Beijing and will head to Brussels after Moscow as part of a bid to salvage the deal.

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