Nursultan Nazarbayev remarks Astana process role

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ASTANA. KAZINFORM Nursultan Nazarbayev clarified why the Syria peace talks are held in Kazakhstan, Kazinform reports.

At the third session of the Astana Club, Foreign Minister of Austria Benita Ferrero-Waldner asked a question about Kazakhstan's position as a neutral participant in the talks on Syria.

"Nowadays, one of the most important issues arousing all mankind's concern is terrorism. There are three issues: terrorism, nuclear disarmament, and the North Korea issue. All three issues cannot be solved without consolidating all countries of the world, especially the superpowers, such as the United States, Russia, and China. For instance, without such consolidation, it is not possible to solve the problem of North Korea. However, there is disagreement between the three powers as to economic and political issues, you know this well. Therefore, we are concerned about that. Syria is our region, not far from us," the Head of State said as an answer to the question.

He noted that young people are recruited to fight in Syria.

"So, we live in the center of the storm in that respect. Thus, I have been interested all the time. I have been in these countries, I know these leaders, and we have always treated them kindly and they have been kind to us as well. And, I certainly agreed when the leaders of Russia, Turkey, and Iran turned to us as it is our platform they consider convenient for the negotiations, which can be attended by those who do not want to be in Geneva," he said.

The President also told about the peace talks.

"7 rounds have already been held. Indeed, real militia commanders, who are fighting there, came here. A very complex composition, different opinions. And the negotiations were hard. A priori, we cannot say that we will achieve great results, but the benefits and movements are obvious. Therefore, I believe that we are contributing to a noble goal for peace, the fight against ISIS. The United States-led coalition, the joint efforts of Russia, Turkey and Iran are bringing about the results. We are on the eve of the victory over that organization. But, it is necessary to think what will happen next. It can fragment and appear here and there. We need consolidation," the President summed up.

Recall that the third session of the Astana Club was held in Astana on November 13, 2017.

Astana Club is an international discussion platform that brought together more than 60 participants from 27 countries including prominent politicians, diplomats, political scientists, and leading experts of the largest think tanks from the US, Russia, China, India, Europe, the Middle East, as well as Central and Southeast Asia.

 

 

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