Hussein Jaberi Ansari: Guarantor countries FMs will discuss next Astana meeting date     

Astana, SANA – Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, Hussein Jaberi Ansari, announced on Thursday that the date of Astana 9th round on the Syrian crisis will be set during the talks between the guarantor countries’ talks which will be held today or tomorrow.

The Foreign Ministers of the three guarantor countries — Russia, Iran and Turkey — Sergei Lavrov, Mohammad Javad Zarif and Mouloud Jawish Oglu will hold a meeting on Syria in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Friday.

Ansari told the Russian news agency (Sputnik) “The date of the ninth round of the Astana talks will be decided during our meetings today and tomorrow.

Heads of the Guarantor States’ delegations discussed the draft final statement of the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the three Guarantor States.

This draft will be discussed tomorrow by the ministers and then the statement will be distributed to journalists.”

The Kazakh capital, Astana, hosted eight meetings on Syria, the last of which was held on December 21-22. The guarantor countries stressed in the final statements the need for maintaining Syria’s unity and sovereignty, continuing fight against terrorism, enhancing cessation of hostilities in the de-escalation zones and affirming a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria.

Emma /Mazen