New York, SANA- Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, announced that the next international meeting on Syria in the Astana format is expected to be held before the end of this year.
“The Astana format constitutes the most effective international mechanism to reach a solution in Syria, and Russia, for its part, hopes to organize a meeting in this format before the end of this year,” TASS news agency quoted Nebenzia as saying at a meeting of the UN Security Council yesterday.
Nebenzia added, “The security threats to Syria and the entire region come from the remnants of the widely spread terrorist groups that have found shelter in Idleb, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates and in al-Tanf. Therefore, making progress in the course of the political process in Syria is very necessary.”
The Russian diplomat said “We held consultations with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in Moscow, due to the necessity of continuing the Syrian dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations and in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.”
“We are interested in making progress on issues related to the settlement in Syria on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and documents adopted at the Syrian National Dialogue Conference in Sochi in 2018,” Nebenzia added.
He underscored the importance of the Astana format, which proved its effectiveness as an international solution in Syria, expressing hope to organize another meeting with this formula in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, before the end of this year.
The 18th International Meeting on Syria in the Astana format took place on the 15th and 16th of last June, and at its conclusion a joint statement was adopted affirming the firm commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and to the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)