Akmolinsk Oblast

The 13th round of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan capital Nur-Sultan, formerly Astana, concluded on Aug. 2 with a decision to step up joint efforts to prevent civilian casualties in Idlib.

The 13th round of talks on Syria kicked off in the capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, on Aug 1, with bilateral and trilateral talks between officials from Iran, Russia and Turkey - the three main Astana guarantors.

Officials from Turkey, Russia, and Iran met on April 25 in the Kazakh capital Nursultan to discuss technical issues around ongoing talks between the three nations to find a settlement to the Syrian crisis.         

The special envoy to Syria has suggested ending the Astana talks on the future of the country, promoting the U.N.-led Geneva talks.

Vucic recalled that it is now difficult to get investments from Turkey because of the high inflation rate and the minimum wage of 210 euros in that country - much lower than in Serbia. "Why should somebody come to us from Turkey, when they can pay their workers less in their own country, and find as well-trained a workforce as we have.

Turkish and Kazakh aviation firms signed a cooperation deal in the Kazakh capital Astana on May 24 during an international exhibition. 

The Turkish, Russian, and Iranian ministers will again come together to discuss Syria at a meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana in March, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mihail Bogdanov said on Feb. 12. 

Syrian rebel factions will not attend a new round of negotiations with government figures in the Kazakh capital scheduled for March 14-15, an opposition delegation spokesman said, while the Kazakh foreign minister said Russia, Turkey and Iran were pressing ahead with the fresh round of Syria talks.

As the first day of the Astana negotiations is over it seems that the overall outcome may be positive. The three sides, Russia, Turkey and Iran seem to have reached an agreement on a final common announcement about a mechanism that will supervise the ceasefire.

Russia and Turkey agreed in a telephone call on Dec. 27 to push for a cease-fire in Syria and to prepare for possible peace talks planned in Astana set for next month, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.