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Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iran to discuss Damascus-Ankara normalization

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Jun 2023 08:25
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Russia, Iran, and Turkey established the Astana peace process in 2017 to find solutions to the Syrian problem through UN diplomatic efforts.

Delegations of Russia, Iran and Turkey hold talks on Syrian peace at a hotel in Astana, Kazakhstan, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. (AP)

As part of global efforts to normalize relations between Syria and Turkey, the next round of the Astana talks on Syria are due to be held in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on June 20-21.

Several delegations are expected to attend the talks -- including deputy foreign ministers from guarantor countries, namely Russia, Turkey, and Iran, members of the Syrian government and Syrian opposition, and observers - representatives of the UN, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq.

The last time a session was held was on November 22-23, 2022 in Astana.

Russia, Iran, and Turkey established the Astana peace process in 2017 to find solutions to the Syrian problem through UN diplomatic efforts. However, the general environment around this process implies that it will not acquire pace unless Turkish forces completely withdraw from northern Syria, as hinted at during a meeting of the four countries' defense ministers on April 25.

On April 4, during a quadripartite meeting in Moscow that involved assistant foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, Syria laid out three conditions for normalizing ties with Turkey.

These include "ending the illegal Turkish presence on Syrian territory, non-interference in the Syrian internal affairs, and combating terrorism in all its forms."

On June 14, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that “the normalization roadmap is ready,” adding that “our goal here is productive negotiation with our partners in this endeavor; we hope the new meeting in Astana will allow us to move forward with a satisfactory development.”