Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry announces the end of Astana Process

The 20th round of the Astana Process talks on Syria was officially pronounced as the last one, according to Kanat Tumysh, deputy foreign minister of Kazakhstan.

On the sidelines of the 20th international meeting devoted to the crisis in Syria commonly known as the Astana Process, Tumysh responded to journalists’ questions about whether new rounds of negotiations on Syria are necessary.

«The gradual exit of Syria from regional isolation is a sign that the Astana Process has reached its goal. Given that Syria is now back to the family of Arab states, we propose to officially declare the 20th meeting on Syria the last one within the Astana Process,» the official said.

The reaction of the talks’ participants to the news

Alexander Lavrentyev, the special envoy of the Russian president for Syria, said that negotiations on Syria will continue in Moscow, Tehran, Ankara or Damascus in rotation.

«We are grateful to the government of Kazakhstan for the opportunity to hold these meetings in Kazakhstan over the past six years in a row. However, as Kazakhstan’s authorities want the talks to be held somewhere else, we will negotiate and select another suitable place,» he said.

About the Astana Process

The very first round of negotiations on Syria in Astana was held in January 2017. Nursultan Nazarbayev, who at the time was president of Kazakhstan, proposed the capital city of Astana as a platform for negotiations between all parties of the conflict in Syria.

Over the period from January to October 2017, Astana hosted seven international meetings on Syria.

The UN and many world leaders have acknowledged the role of Astana in the settlement of the conflict. The Astana Process effectively complemented the Geneva peace talks on Syria as the two platforms pursued a peaceful and stable settlement for the Syrian crisis.