Kazakhstan will keep Astana Process if all its participants want it to do so

Kazakhstan is ready to resume the Astana Process, the peace talks on Syria, if all participants of the negotiations request the country to do so, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website.

The agency also explained why Kazakhstan announced the 20th round of the Astana Process talks on Syria as the last one on its territory.

According to the foreign ministry, the initial goals of the Astana Process format, specifically the creation of de-escalation zones, the end of bloodshed between the conflicting parties and the prevention of a large-scale humanitarian crisis, have been achieved.

«Today, the political situation in the Middle East is changing dramatically. We see that Arab states and Syria want to restore their relations. For instance, Syria’s membership in the League of Arab States has been resumed,» the ministry said in a statement.

Another important factor is the intention of Türkiye to normalize its relations with Syria.

«In this regard, it’s safe to say that the gradual emergence of Syria from regional isolation is the success of the Astana Process on Syria,» the MFA underlined.

At the same time, the ministry hasn’t ruled out that Kazakhstan will think about what it can do to resume the talks if all participants of the negotiation format request the country to do so. Once such a request is received, the country will consider the possibility of resuming the process as a gesture of goodwill. The progress of negotiations at other venues and the situation in Syria as a whole will be taken into account as well.

On June 21, Kazakhstan announced that the 20th round of the Astana Process talks on Syria was the last one. This decision was a big surprise for Russia, Iran and Turkey, according to Alexander Lavrentyev, special envoy of the Russian president for Syria.

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.

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