MNA – The 6th high-level meeting of the Astana Process on Syria will take place on 14-15 September 2017, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry's press service said Monday.


The Kazakh Foreign Ministry announced that the sixth round of talks on Syrian settlement will kick off on Thursday, with the plenary meeting to be held on Friday in Rixos President Astana hotel.

On Thursday, the negotiating sides will hold bilateral and multilateral sessions for further coordination and bringing their views and positions closer to one another. On Friday, the three guarantor states will announce the necessary decisions during the planetary meeting.

In addition to delegations from Iran, Russia and Turkey as the guarantor states, representatives from Syrian government representatives and the country's opposition, Kazakhstan as the host country, United Nations and observer countries will participate in the negotiation process.

The sixth round of Astana Process on Syria will focus on creating the fourth safe zone in Idlib province.

The safe zones, created with help from Russia, Turkey, and Iran, have been operating in southern Syria, Eastern Ghouta and Homs province. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed hope that the Friday meeting on Astana will conclude with consensus on the establishment of a de-escalation zone in Idlib province, which he deemed to be more difficult than the other zones.

He further maintained that with the establishment of a safe zone in Idlib, the sides will be presented with more opportunities to alleviate tension in the conflict-torn country.