UNSC: Astana Meeting significant step in resumption of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva

New York, SANA- The UN Security Council (UNSC) stressed that the Astana talks on the crisis in Syria, which were held in the Kazakh capital on January 23-24, represents a significant step for relaunching the intra-Syrian dialogue in Geneva under the auspices of the UN .

The two day-Astana meeting on the crisis in Syria stressed in its final statement commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.

The statement also reiterated that the only solution to the crisis in Syria would be through a political process. It announced the formation of a tripartite mechanism to observe the cessation of hostilities, stressing intention to fight terrorism.

The members of the Security Council said in a statement that they look forward to the resumption of intra -Syrian negotiations, and encourage in the context the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to reconvene the negotiations as soon as possible in Geneva, urging the Syrian parties to participate in the negotiations in good faith and without preconditions.

The UNSC stressed the need to observe the ceasefire in Syria and continue the efforts on political settlement of the crisis. They also called to fight against terrorist groups.

On Monday, de Mistura announced in a press conference following a closed doors UNSC meeting, that he made the decision to postpone the date for the restart of the talks in Geneva until February 20.

H. Zain/ Hazem Sabbagh

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