Key powers thrash out safe zones plan at Syria talks

Powerbrokers Russia, Iran and Turkey struggled yesterday to hammer out details on a plan for safe zones in Syria at a fifth round of peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, reports AFP from Astana.

Moscow and Tehran, which back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and rebel supporter Ankara agreed in May to establish four “de-escalation” zones in a potential breakthrough towards calming a war that has claimed an estimated 320,000 lives since March 2011.

While fighting dropped off in the weeks after the deal, it has ratcheted up in some areas since, and the international players have yet to finalise the boundaries of the zones or determine who will police them.

In a bid to thrash out the details of the plan, participants were holding a string of closed-door meetings for a second day in Astana, with a joint session bringing together all players, including representatives of the Syria regime and rebels, expected later Wednesday.

Rebel representatives at the talks were tight-lipped about progress, with one delegation member telling AFP only that “bilateral discussions are ongoing”.

But a source close to the Syrian rebel delegation told AFP that Turkey, Russia and Iran had “prepared seven documents to help implement a ceasefire in Syria and deploy ground forces in predetermined zones.”

The documents would not be signed this round but would probably be adopted at a conference next week in Tehran, the source said. The source added that Iran had been proposed as a potential monitor for the de-escalation zone in the central province of Homs but that rebels would refuse any role for Tehran’s forces there.

Turkish and Russian forces are likely to be deployed in the northern de-escalation zone’s “buffer territory, separating the opposition and regime” in parts of Idlib and neighbouring Aleppo provinces, the source said.

 

Key powers thrash out safe zones plan at Syria talks

Powerbrokers Russia, Iran and Turkey struggled yesterday to hammer out details on a plan for safe zones in Syria at a fifth round of peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, reports AFP from Astana. Moscow and Tehran, which back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and rebel supporter Ankara agreed in May to establish four de-escalation zones in a potential breakthrough towards calming a war that has claimed an estimated 320,000 lives since March 2011. While fighting dropped off in the weeks after the deal, it has ratcheted up in some areas since, and the international players have yet to finalise the boundaries of the zones or determine who will police them. In a bid to thrash out the details of the plan, participants were holding a string of closed-door meetings for a second day in Astana, with a joint session bringing together all players, including representatives of the Syria regime and rebels, expected later Wednesday. Rebel representatives at the talks were tight-lipped about progress, with one delegation member telling AFP only that bilateral discussions are ongoing. But a source close to the Syrian rebel delegation told AFP that Turkey, Russia and Iran had prepared seven documents to help implement a ceasefire in Syria and deploy ground forces in predetermined zones. The documents would not be signed this round but would probably be adopted at a conference next week in Tehran, the source said. The source added that Iran had been proposed as a potential monitor for the de-escalation zone in the central province of Homs but that rebels would refuse any role for Tehrans forces there. Turkish and Russian forces are likely to be deployed in the northern de-escalation zones buffer territory, separating the opposition and regime in parts of Idlib and neighbouring Aleppo provinces, the source said.