- Title: Powers agree to "ensure full compliance" with truce
- Date: 24th January 2017
- Summary: ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN (JANUARY 24, 2017) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** WIDE OF GATHERING (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTER, KAIRAT ABDRAKHMANOV READING OUT TEXT OF THE JOINT STATEMENT BY IRAN, RUSSIA AND TURKEY ON THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON SYRIA IN ASTANA, SAYING: "(Iran, Turkey, Russia) reaffirmed their commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, non-sectarian and democratic state as confirmed by the United Nations Security Council, express their conviction that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and that it can only be solved through political process based on the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 2254 in its entirety." WIDE OF GATHERING (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTER, KAIRAT ABDRAKHMANOV READING OUT TEXT OF THE JOINT STATEMENT BY IRAN, RUSSIA AND TURKEY ON THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON SYRIA IN ASTANA, SAYING: "Decide to establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the ceasefire. Reiterate their determination to fight jointly against ISIL Daesh and al-Nusra and to separate from them armed opposition groups." WIDE OF GATHERING (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTER, KAIRAT ABDRAKHMANOV READING OUT TEXT OF THE JOINT STATEMENT BY IRAN, RUSSIA AND TURKEY ON THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON SYRIA IN ASTANA, SAYING: "Support the willingness of the armed opposition groups to participate in the next round of negotiations to be held between the government and the opposition under the United Nations auspices in Geneva as of February 8, 2017." UN SPECIAL ENVOY ON SYRIA STAFFAN DE MISTURA PLACING DOCUMENTS IN HIS JACKET'S POCKET VARIOUS OF MEETING REPRESENTATIVES
- Embargoed: 7th February 2017 16:00
- Keywords: syria Astana talks Kazakhstan communique
- Location: ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN
- City: ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN
- Country: Kazakhstan
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00160FY43R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Russia and regional powers Turkey and Iran backed a shaky truce between Syria's warring parties on Tuesday (January 24) and agreed to monitor its compliance, but on the ground rebels faced continued fighting on two fronts which could undermine the deal.
After two days of deliberations in Astana, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said the powers had agreed in a final communique to establish a system "to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the ceasefire."
While welcoming the text, the Syrian government's chief negotiator Bashar Ja'afari said an offensive against rebels west of Damascus would carry on. Rebels say it is a major violation of the ceasefire agreed on Dec. 30.
Opposition negotiator Mohammad Alloush in turn said he had reservations about the text which he said legitimised Iran's "bloodletting" in Syria and did not address the role of Shi'ite militias fighting rebels.
In northwest Syria, heavy fighting erupted between the jihadist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Free Syrian Army factions who were represented at the Astana talks.
FSA groups are still reeling after being driven from Aleppo city last month by government forces and their allies. Any further loss of territory in their main northern stronghold - this time at the jihadist insurgents - could leave them too weak to achieve any meaningful gains from peace negotiation.
In Astana, rebel and government delegates held indirect talks for the first time in nine months at a time when Turkey, which backs the rebels, and Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, each want to disentangle themselves from the fighting.
That has led them into an ad-hoc alliance that also appears to enshrine Iran in a process that could lead to some form of political settlement - leaving the United Nations role unclear especially with the United States distracted by domestic issues.
The talks represent a coup for Moscow, which has evolved into the main powerbroker since its military intervention in September 2015 to shore up Assad.
The statement also said "the next round of negotiations to be held between the government and the opposition under the United Nations auspices in Geneva as of February 8, 2017." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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