ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 11. Astana hosts the 22nd round of international negotiations on the settlement of the situation in Syria within the framework of the Astana Process, Trend reports.
Eleven delegations have arrived in the capital of Kazakhstan to participate in the talks. The negotiating group from the Syrian government is headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Raad, while the Syrian opposition delegation is led by Ahmad Toma.
Also participating in the meeting are delegations from the guarantor countries: from Russia, headed by Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Syrian Settlement, Alexander Lavrentiev; from Türkiye, headed by Director-General for Bilateral Political Relations at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mustafa Yurdakul; and from Iran, led by Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran for Special Political Affairs, Ali-Asghar Khaji.
Observers at the negotiations include representatives from Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, as well as from international organizations such as the United Nations, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Red Cross.
As expected, on November 11-12, bilateral and trilateral consultations will be held, followed by a plenary session and a press conference with the heads of delegations.
The Astana format is a series of negotiations involving all parties to the conflict, addressing the most urgent issues at the moment. The uniqueness of the Astana format lies in its in-depth exchange of views on all aspects of the Syrian settlement over two days. Meetings in the Astana format are held following significant events and changes in the situation in Syria. Several rounds of the Astana process have taken place not in Kazakhstan’s capital but in Sochi and Ankara.