Putin thanks Kazakhstan for hosting negotiations on Syria

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - President of Russia Vladimir Putin thanked his Kazakhstani counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev for providing a platform for the International Meeting on Syrian Settlement in Astana, Kazinform has learnt from RIA Novosti.

While speaking at the final panel of the Valdai Discussion Club, Putin admitted that there had been moments when Nursultan Nazarbayev took certain responsibility to keep all conflicting and negotiating parties at the negotiating table.

The Russian leader also noted the positive atmosphere of the International Meeting on Syria (Astana process) in the Kazakh capital. He stressed that the creation of de-escalation zones had been the most tangible result of the talks in Astana.

As a reminder, the armed conflict in Syria has been raging since March 2011. The negotiations on the Syrian settlement are held in Astana and Geneva. To date, the Kazakh capital has hosted six rounds of the International Meeting on Syrian Settlementю