Kazakhstan participates in Brussels conference on Syria

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - On April 24-25, 2018 the 2nd Brussels conference "Supporting the future of Syria and the region" under the co-chairmanship of the European Union and the United Nations took place in Brussels. The event was attended by high-level representatives of more than 80 countries and international organizations. Kazakhstan was represented by First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi, Kazinform has learnt from the press service of the Kazakh MFA.

The conference aimed to mobilize humanitarian aid to Syrians both inside the country and in the neighboring countries, as well as to garner political support of the international community for the UN-led peace process on Syria in Geneva.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, the President of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon Saad Hariri, the Vice Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Akdag, the Foreign Minister of Jordan Ayman H. Safafi, opening the conference, agreed that there is an urgent need to find a political conflict resolution.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura noted that "it is high time for the international community to unite in the search for a solution to this conflict, which affects millions of people". He noted that the Astana process played an important role in the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria.

Tleuberdi during his speech noted that Kazakhstan fully supports and contributes to the international efforts to resolve a protracted armed conflict and humanitarian disaster in Syria.

А year ago Kazakhstan agreed to host peace talks between the Syrian government and representatives from the armed opposition groups, offering Astana as a platform to support the UN-led intra-Syrian talks in Geneva and has already hosted 8 rounds of talks. In this regard, the Kazakh diplomat stressed that all the agreements reached in Astana complement the process in Geneva and give a positive impetus to the political settlement of the Syrian conflict.

The initiative led to the Syrian Government and groups of armed opposition sitting down for the first time at the same negotiating table. Moreover, four de-escalation zones, as well as mechanisms to monitor the ceasefire in Syria were established. The Astana process has proved to be an effective platform for exchanging opinions, negotiating and developing concrete steps to resolve the conflict.

Tleuberdi also stressed that Kazakhstan always stands for a peaceful settlement and is ready to work together to preserve peace and security.