MOSCOW: Kazakhstan said Wednesday it will stop hosting talks aimed at resolving Syria鈥檚 12-year-old conflict. The abrupt announcement surprised Russia and other participants as they wrapped up the 20th round of talks in the capital of Astana.
Since 2017, the former Soviet republic has provided a venue for talks to representatives of Russia, Turkiye, Syria and Iran on ways to resolve the Syrian war.
Kazakhstan鈥檚 Foreign Ministry said the talks have fulfilled their mission and that 鈥渢he initial goals, including the creation of de-escalation zones, ending the bloodshed and reducing the number of casualties have been fully implemented.鈥�
The ministry鈥檚 spokesman, Aibek Smadiyarov, cited Syria鈥檚 recent return to the Arab League and efforts to restore ties with Turkiye as proof that the Astana talks achieved their purpose.
But Alexander Lavrentyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 envoy to Syria who led Moscow鈥檚 delegation at the talks, said Kazakhstan鈥檚 decision was a complete surprise and an unexpected move.
Lavrentyev said that no decision was made about a new venue for future talks later this year, but suggested they could be held in Moscow, Ankara, Tehran, or even Damascus.
This week鈥檚 talks in Astana followed an improvement in ties between Syria and some Arab countries that once backed Syrian opposition groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad鈥檚 forces.
Lavrentyev said Syria鈥檚 return to the Arab League during the May summit in 萝莉视频 was an 鈥渋mportant step鈥� toward ending the conflict.
Representatives from the United Nations and Syria鈥檚 neighbors 鈥� Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq 鈥� attended the Astana talks as observers and expressed hope for a swift end to the conflict and the return home of millions of refugees living in their countries.
Turkiye, Russia and Iran described the latest talks in Astana as 鈥渃onstructive鈥� and said they discussed 鈥減reparing the roadmap for the restoration of relations between Turkiye and Syria.鈥�
Moscow and Tehran have backed Assad鈥檚 government in the war and helped his forces reclaim control over most of the country. Even with the bulk of Russia鈥檚 armed forces fighting in Ukraine, Moscow has maintained its military foothold in Syria and has also made persistent efforts to help Assad rebuild fractured ties with Turkiye and other countries in the region.
Turkiye has had troops in northwestern Syria backing opposition fighters in the last rebel-held enclave. On Tuesday, Syria鈥檚 assistant foreign minister, Ayman Sousan, said Turkiye should come up with a 鈥渃lear timeline鈥� for the withdrawal of its forces from Syria.
In May, after Syria was readmitted to the Arab League, Turkiye and Syria鈥檚 foreign ministers agreed to set up a 鈥渞oadmap鈥� to improve strained ties. It marked the highest-level contact between the two countries since the 2011 start of the uprising turned civil war.
The war in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people and displaced half of the country鈥檚 prewar population of 23 million.
Hours after the Astana meeting ended, residents and a war monitor reported that Syrian government forces shelled an opposition-held town in Aleppo province, killing at least three people, including a child.
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling also targeted other towns nearby controlled by the Al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al Sham group. Syrian state media did not report on the shelling.