Nazarbayev meets with participants of 7th round of Astana process

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Today, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has met with heads of the delegations participating in the 7th round of the Astana talks (Astana process) on Syrian settlement, Kazinform has learnt from the Akorda press service.

In attendance at the meeting were heads of the Guarantor Countries' delegations, namely Presidential Representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev (Russia), Deputy Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Sedat Onal (Turkey) and Deputy Foreign Ministry Hossein Jaberi Ansari (Iran), observer states, namely Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Satterfield (U.S.), special advisor for political issues of the Foreign Ministry Uasfi Tel (Jordan) as well as the UN official Milos Strugar.

During the meeting, the Head of State noted the importance of the Syrian conflict settlement and pointed out that the entire international community was interested in the settlement.

President Nazarbayev reminded then that the presidents of Russia and Turkey had reached out to Kazakhstan to provide the platform for negotiations in Astana. "These days it [Astana] is hosting the 7th round of talks. Everyone praises the effect of that process [Astana process]," Nazarbayev said.

The Kazakh leader emphasized that the Astana process promotes effectiveness of the Geneva talks.

The Head of State also drew attention of the participants of the meeting to the results that had been achieved within the framework of the Astana process.

"We have solved the problem of de-escalation of conflicts in several regions. Further mechanisms have been developed and the humanitarian situation has improved. It is crucial to preserve the ceasefire regime," Nazarbayev added.

Alexander Lavrentyev, in turn, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to discuss interim results of the Astana talks on Syria and stressed that it is necessary to establish the political dialogue to further settle the conflict.

Sedat Onal commended the relevance of the Astana process and thanked the Kazakh President for the contribution to the solution of that problem.

Jaberi Ansari said it is crucial to continue the fight against terrorism and efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.

Reps of the observer states also lauded Kazakhstan and Nursultan Nazarbayev's role in the process of peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict.