Guarantor States of Syria Peace Talks May Sign '4 Security Zones' Document: Source
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The intra-Syrian negotiations that started in the Kazakh capital city of Astana on Wednesday may result in adopting a document on creating four security zones in the Arab country, a source said.
"We expect a breakthrough. So far, this idea [of creating four zones of de-escalation of tensions] is accepted by everyone. We hope this document will be signed," the source in one of the delegations told Sputnik on Wednesday.
It added that guarantor states Iran, Russia and Turkey would sign the document in case of its adoption.
This is the fourth round of talks between the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition in Kazakhstan. Russia, Iran and Turkey sponsor the initiative. The militants, who snubbed the previous round in March, hold talks with the Damascus delegation, led by Bashar al-Ja'afari, who is Syria’s top negotiator and the country’s envoy to the UN.
Spokesman of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry Anuar Zhainakov said on Wednesday that all participants of the talks have arrived in Kazakhstan’s capital, including the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.
The US has also sent Stuart Jones, acting assistant Secretary of State for the Near East Affairs Bureau, to observe the talks. That would raise the level of US presence in the negotiations as Washington had only dispatched its ambassador to Astana to the previous rounds.
Head of Jordan’s delegation also confirmed his participation in the talks.
Diplomatic efforts to end fighting in Syria have gained momentum in recent months with the announcement of a ceasefire in the Arab country in early January.
The truce excludes terrorist groups such as Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups controlling parts of it.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
