Syrian peace process

Turkish and Russian presidents on April 30 agreed to continue close cooperation in Syria as part of Astana Peace Process, said a statement by Turkish Presidency.         

Russia will not allow the de-escalation zone in Syria's Idlib to be a "safe zone" for terrorists, the presidential envoy for Syria said on April 29.       

Officials from Turkey, Russia and Iran met on April 25 in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan to discuss the Idlib province in northwest Syria and efforts to draft a new Syrian constitution, a major step for a future political settlement of the war-torn country.

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 Syrian government and rebels swapped prisoners on Feb. 12 as part of a peace process brokered by Russia, Iran and Turkey, the Turkish government said.

A Russian delegation, led by Russian special presidential envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, last week held a meeting with Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal to discuss efforts for a political process in Syria, including the launch of a constitutional committee as an important stage in resolving the Syrian crisis.

U.S. Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey has said that Washington's support for armed groups in northern Syria was temporary.

U.S. special representative for Syria James Jeffrey had talks in Ankara during a meeting for a joint working group on Syria, a few days after he suggested the U.S. wanted the Astana process — the three-way negotiations between Turkey, Russia and Iran — to be brought to an end.

Any progress in efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis was achieved thanks to the Astana and Sochi processes while the Geneva process was in a stalemate, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Dec. 5, noting that remarks made by a U.S. envoy undermining the Astana process was "unfortunate." 

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