Another round of talks is ongoing about the situation in Syria under the Astana framework, attended by envoys from the Syrian government as well as the ‘opposition’, which asserts that no peaceful political solution can be accepted which does not contemplate the removal of Assad.
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The meetings are taking place in the Russian resort city of Sochi and are being led by Russia, Turkey, and Iran. The talks are focused on the humanitarian conditions in Syria, the fate of prisoners, ‘de-escalation zones’, the return of Syria’s refugees, and the establishment of a committee to rewrite the Syrian constitution.
Al jazeera reports
Delegations from the Syrian government and the political opposition have arrived in the Russian city of Sochi for talks on the war in Syria, which are spearheaded by Russia, Turkey and Iran.
The meetings, which began on Monday and will end on Tuesday, are held within the framework of the Astana diplomatic track, which is sponsored by the three nations and is separate to UN-led efforts in Geneva.
Among those attending the 10th round of the Astana-format talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi are Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, and officials from Jordan.
Ahmed Tumah, the former head of the Syrian interim government, is representing the High Negotiations Committee, the main opposition bloc.
Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s ambassador to the UN, is present on behalf of the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad.
The talks will address various humanitarian issues, as well as the latest situation in the so-called “de-escalation zones” that once included four provinces.
Idlib, the last rebel-held stronghold in the country, is part of the Russian-brokered “de-escalation” agreements aiming to shore up ceasefires in parts of western Syria.
The province bordering Turkey is home to nearly three million people, including opposition fighters and their families.
The focus of the talks will also be on the return of Syrian refugees to the country, the release of detainees and the establishment of a committee tasked with rewriting the Syrian constitution.
Failed negotiations
The main aims of both diplomatic tracks – Astana and Geneva – have been to achieve a political transition and a military ceasefire in Syria, but the main sticking point has been the fate of Assad.
While the Syrian government has consistently refused to agree to Assad stepping down, the opposition says his removal is a prerequisite to peace.
Talks for nearly years have utilised a two-year-old UN Security Council resolution endorsed by de Mistura as the basis for achieving a political transition plan.
The Geneva talks have been at a standstill for the past six months.
During the ninth Astana meeting held in May, all parties agreed to maintain the de-escalation zones that were meant to observe a ceasefire.
But since the start of 2018, forces loyal to Assad have retaken large swaths of land from armed opposition groups.
Backed militarily by Russia, the government launched two main offensives – in Eastern Ghouta, near the capital, Damascus and southwest Syria – despite both being designated as “de-escalation zones”.
The government has since managed to relocate rebels to the north via a series of evacuation deals.
It remains to be seen whether a political solution can ever successfully manifest when the hard line is the removal of Assad from power, as that is a non negotiable for the Syrian government’s side, and while the ‘opposition’ is backed by foreign powers with their own political aims in Syria.
The so-called ‘opposition’ is a coalition of seditious rebels which have been engaged in all kinds of horrific atrocities and war crimes as well as being engaged in the armed sedition against an elected sitting government. Syria has been regaining its territory at a pace that is picking up steam, and militarily could eventually rout the rebels, where the peace talks are useful in the means of reducing unnecessary casualties and collateral damage.
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