Nursultan-Sana
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Qasim Jumart Tokayev discussed preparations for the next round of Astana-style talks on the crisis in Syria.
Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tlauberdi said in a statement from the capital, Sultan, that Tokayev and Putin stressed during their meeting on the sidelines of the Valdai Forum for International Dialogue in Sochi the importance of continuing the Astana process, where a new round of talks is scheduled for this October, but no deadline has been set yet.
The guarantors of the Astana process "Russia, Iran and Turkey" announced in the final statement of the 13th round of the Astana talks, which took place on the first and second of last August in Nuristan that the next round of talks will be this month.
Tlauberdi said on Tuesday preparations were continuing for a new round of Astana-style talks in the Kazakh capital Nuristan this month, while Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said at a Security Council session on Monday that the round of talks would be held "soon."
The Astana meetings began in early 2017 and held 13 meetings in Astana format, one of them in the Russian city of Sochi, and stressed in its entirety the firm commitment to preserve Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and to continue the war on terrorist organizations there until it is finally defeated.