Astana

The presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran will come together on Sept. 16 in Ankara for the fifth summit under the Astana Process where they will discuss the recently increased tension in the Idlib province of Syria as well as attempts to start a political solution to the nine-year turmoil in the war-torn country.

Presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran meet in Ankara today. The tripartite meeting of the so-called Astana format will discuss the situation in Syria, and in particular the situation in the northern province of Idlib.

It is the last large territory under the control of armed insurgents.

Turkey's presidential spokesperson on Sept. 1 called on Russia and Iran to ensure the full implementation of the Idlib deal which was signed during the landmark 2018 Astana talks.     

Syrian regime forces supported by Russian jets on Aug. 22 fully sieged the de-escalation zones in northwestern Syria by violating Astana and Idlib agreements, officials told Anadolu Agency.  

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.

Turkey, Iran and Russia condemned April 26 the U.S.'s move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over occupied Syrian Golan Heights in a joint statement after the 12th round of Astana meetings on Syria.

On April 22, a prisoner swap between the Assad regime and Syria's armed opposition took place as part of the Astana process, according to Turkey's Foreign Ministry.     

Eurasian Economic Commission board member Veronika Nikishina said this on Thursday, Tanjug is reporting, citing TASS.

At a joint meeting of the two chambers, Kazakhstan's parliament passed a law renaming the state capital Astana to Nursultan in honor of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, TASS reported.

The members of the Magglias (Lower House) and Senate (upper) unanimously voted in favor of the proposal. The law is considered adopted and is now due to be signed by the president.