MNA �The establishment of�the fourth and the last zone of�de-escalation of�violence in�Syria, namely in�its northern Idlib province, is going to�be in�the spotlight of�the upcoming high-level international meeting on�Syria in�Astana, Kazakhstan's capital.


The talks, attended by�high-ranking officials from�the three ceasefire guarantor states�� Russia, Iran and Turkey�� as�well as�representatives of�the Syrian government and armed opposition, will be held on�September 13-15.

So far,�three zones of�de-escalation have been established: in�the south along�the border with�Jordan, in�Eastern Ghouta and to�the north of�Homs. Consultations on�the fourth and most problematic de-escalation zone in�the Idlib province are ongoing.

In July, Russia, Turkey and Iran, with�help of�Jordan and the United States as�observers, tried to�coordinate a whole range of�specifics on�the establishment of�the four safe zones, but�could not agree on�all the details and sign the package of�documents as�a whole.

Since July, three out�of four zones were coordinated and announced outside�of the Astana framework.

Key attendees of�the sixth international meeting on�Syria in�Astana will be the same as�in previous gatherings. The Russian delegation will be headed by�special presidential envoy for�Syria Alexander Lavrentiev and include Director of�Middle East and North Africa Department in�the Foreign Ministry Sergey Vershinin and Gen. Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov.

The Iranian delegation for�Astana is usually headed by�Deputy Foreign Minister for�Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari, while the Turkish team is led by�the Foreign Ministry's Deputy Undersecretary Sedat Onal.

The Syrian government delegation is led by�Syria's Envoy to�the United Nations in�New York Bashar Jaafari.

The UN side will be represented by�Special Envoy for�Syria Staffan de Mistura, as�well as�a group of�experts headed by�Milos Strugar.

Jordan and the United States will act as�observers. US acting assistant secretary of�state for�Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield has confirmed his participation, according to�the Kazakh Foreign Ministry. He will be a new person at�the talks.

Interestingly,�the Syrian opposition delegation�will this time will include not only representatives of�military factions, but�also a political element. Therefore, Yahya Aridi is attending the talks as�a spokesman for�the High Negotiations Committee, a negotiating body of�the political opposition that always attends the UN-led intra-Syrian talks in�Geneva. He attended the talks in�Astana only once in�January, when the country's future constitution was discussed.

What is important is that Astana meeting comes just after�Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visits to�Saudi Arabia and Jordan, where de-escalation on�Syria presumably was on�top of�the agenda.

On Sunday, Lavrov met with�King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir in�Saudi Arabia. On Monday, he spoke to�his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi and King Abdullah II of�Jordan in�Amman.

After the meeting, Safadi expressed hope that "all de-escalation zones in�Syria will be established as�soon as�possible."

Humanitarian aid, detainees and demining are also expected to�be on�the agenda at�Astana-6, as�they are part of�the package of�seven documents which are in�the process of�being finalized.

The adoption of�the package�can become the most important outcome of�the forthcoming talks. A plenary session on�Friday will demonstrate how successful the talks will have been.