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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Russia, Turkey and Iran agree system to monitor Syria ceasefire |
| 2017-01-25 |
| [MIDDLEEASTEYE.NET] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , Russia and Iran have reached agreement on forming a three-party mechanism to monitor ceasefire violations in Syria, the states said on Tuesday as talks came to a close in Astana, Kazakhstan. In a joint statement, the states said the agreement would prevent any provocations and determine exactly how the ceasefire will work. Concluding the Syria talks in Astana, Tehran, Moscow and Ankara also said they supported the willingness of the armed opposition groups to participate in the next round of negotiations to be held in Geneva on 8 February and the implementation of "roadmap for peace" outlined in UN Security Council resolution 2254. UN Special Representative for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that the Syrian grinding of the peace processor should remain guided by the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... and continue in Geneva. "We (the UN) are the main player in regards to the political process," he said, praising the Astana talks' role in reaching an agreement to consolidate a ceasefire. 'Birth' of Astana process The head of the Russian delegation at the Astana talks said the negotiations had been positive and that he believed a new process had been born to kickstart negotiations between warring Syrian parties. "Despite a lot of time spent on agreeing the communique, we have managed to give birth to the Astana process," Alexander Lavrentyev told news hounds. He said Russia, Turkey and Iran, as guarantors, of the agreement to set up a ceasefire mechanism, would now work closely to implement it. However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... he sought to play down the impact the talks would have on a U.N. led political process. "There will be some speculation that Astana is considered as a substitute of the Geneva process. That's not true - Astana (talks) is a complement to Geneva," he said, adding though that other groups could join the Astana process. |
| Posted by:Fred |