BEIRUT (AP) — The latest on Syria talks underway for a second day in Kazakhstan and developments on the ground in the war-torn country (all times local):

Turkey’s state-run news agency says that Turkey, Russia and Iran have reached an agreement on a three-way mechanism to monitor and enforce a cease-fire in Syria.

The announcement is the first sign of progress during the second day of talks underway in Astana, Kazakhstan, between the Syrian government and rebel factions.

The Anadolu Agency said on Tuesday that the mechanism would allow the three countries to respond immediately to reports on breaches of the cease-fire by using “their influence” to end attacks. The report out of Astana was based on unnamed sources.

Anadolu says the agreement is part of an article of a planned joint declaration to be released later in the day. The agency said however, that the final declaration was still being worked out.

Syria talks between the Damascus government and rebel factions are underway in Kazakhstan for a second day, following a rocky start that saw harsh exchanges between the warring sides.

The talks are focused on shoring up a cease-fire in place since Dec. 30 and are to be followed by more negotiations in Geneva next month.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, who is mediating the talks, promised as he entered the venue at the Rixos Hotel in Astana there will be an “outcome” later on Tuesday.

Syrian rebel spokesman Osama Abo Zayd says his side will communicate with the government delegation through intermediaries, not directly.

The rebels have pinned their hopes on Russia and Turkey, which brokered the cease-fire, but Abu Zayd says they “are waiting for something more than statements.” </s> The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey to end the nearly six-year conflict in Syria and jump-start peace negotiations.

The resolution approved Saturday afternoon also calls for the "rapid, safe and unhindered" delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Syria. And it anticipates a meeting of the Syrian government and opposition representative in Kazakhstan's capital Astana in late January.

The resolution's final text dropped an endorsement of the Syria cease-fire agreement reached Thursday, as Western members of the council sought changes to the circulated draft resolution to clarify the U.N.'s role and the meaning of the agreement brokered by Moscow and Ankara.

Meanwhile on the ground in Syria, rebels warned on Saturday that cease-fire violations by pro-government forces threatened to undermine a two-day-old agreement intended to pave the way for talks between the government and the opposition in the new year.

Airstrikes pounded opposition-held villages and towns in the strategically-important Barada Valley outside Damascus, activists said, prompting rebels to threaten to withdraw their compliance with a nationwide truce brokered by Russia and Turkey last week.

Rebels also accused the government of signing a different version of the agreement to the one they signed in the Turkish capital of Ankara, further complicating the latest diplomatic efforts to bring an end to six years of war.

Nearly 50,000 people died in the conflict in 2016, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which maintains networks of contacts on all sides of the war. More than 13,000 of them were civilians, according to the Observatory. Various estimates have put the war's overall toll at around 400,000 dead.

If the truce holds, the government and the opposition will be expected to meet for talks for the first time in nearly a year in the Kazakh capital of Astana in the second half of January. Those talks will be mediated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and Major General Ali Mamlouk, head of the National Security Bureau, were in Tehran Saturday to discuss developments with their Iranian counterparts, according to Iranian state media. They met with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

The Kremlin meanwhile said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani confirmed their commitment to negotiations in Astana, in a phone conversation between the two leaders.

Iran and Russia have provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Syrian President Bashar Assad throughout the conflict, while Turkey has served as a rear base and source of supplies for the opposition.

The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) to vote on a resolution to endorse the cease-fire and the Astana talks, in line with previous agreements mandating a transitional government for Syria.

The resolution also calls for "rapid, safe and unhindered" access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country.

The developments follow months of talks between Ankara and Moscow that culminated in a cease-fire agreement that went into effect Friday at midnight.

But in a statement issued by a coalition of 11 rebel factions, including the powerful Army of Islam group operating in the Damascus countryside, rebels said they could not abide by the cease-fire if the government continued its assault on Barada Valley.

The statement also complained that the government's version of the agreement signed in Ankara last week had deleted "a number of essential and non-negotiable points."

It said the opposition had agreed to a cease-fire encompassing the whole of Syria, without any exceptions to region or faction.

The Barada Valley Media Center said Lebanese Hezbollah militants were firing on villages and towns in the water-rich region as Russian and government aircraft carried out raids for the 10th consecutive day Saturday. The Lebanese militant group is a key ally to President Assad's forces.

The Barada Valley is the primary source of water for the capital and its surrounding region. The government assault has coincided with a severe water shortage in Damascus since Dec. 22. Images from the valley's Media Center indicate its Ain al-Fijeh spring and water processing facility have been destroyed in airstrikes. The government says rebels spoiled the water source with diesel fuel, forcing it to cut supplies to the capital.

The Observatory reported at least two civilians and five militants have been killed in battles over opposition-held Eastern Ghouta and Barada Valley regions around Damascus, since the truce came into effect Thursday at midnight.

The Syrian military on Friday denied attacking the valley, saying it respected the Russian and Turkish brokered truce.

Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported the death of an Islamic State commander in a Turkish airstrike near the north Syrian town of al-Bab on Friday. The truce does not cover operations against the Islamic State group or al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, the Fatah al-Sham front.

Anadolu identified the commander as Abu Ansari. The report could not be independently verified. </s> Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he is ready to host talks between Russia, Iran, and Turkey on the conflict in Syria in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

"Kazakhstan is ready to host all sides for talks in Astana," Nazarbayev said on December 26 during a visit to St. Petersburg where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kazakh national news agency Kazinform reported that Nazarbayev recently spoke with the presidents of Turkey and Iran and got their agreement to the plan.

Putin said on December 23 that Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had all agreed that neutral Kazakhstan should be the venue for new Syrian peace negotiations.

Putin said the front-line countries proved their effectiveness by arranging a cease-fire and evacuation of rebel forces and civilians from Aleppo last week, and they now are ready to try to broaden the cease-fire to the whole country and launch wider peace talks.

Russia, Iran and Turkey previously announced that they would stand as "guarantors" of any peace accord reached between the Syrian regime, which is allied with Tehran and Moscow, and rebel forces, many of which are allied with Turkey.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa </s> President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on Monday expressed readiness to host Syrian peace talks in Astana.

“The Astana process will be in addition to the United Nations process. Turkey, Russia and İran will be guarantor countries, but the Syrian regime and opposition will negotiate,” Ibrahim Kalın said at a press conference in Ankara as quoted by website Turkish Minute.

The spokesman added that Turkey is advocating that the ceasefire in Aleppo to be implemented throughout Syria.

The opposition and Damascus, along with the mediators, have been engaged in UN-brokered settlement talks. The last round of intra-Syrian talks took place in Geneva in April. The Syrian High Negotiations Committee opposition group walked out of the negotiations, citing the continuous fighting in Syria and the lack of progress on humanitarian issues. </s> ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — Russia, Iran and Turkey — sponsors of talks in Kazakhstan between Syria and rebel factions — pledged Tuesday to consolidate the country’s nearly month-old cease-fire and set up a three-way mechanism to ensure compliance of all sides.

At the conclusion of the two-day conference on Syria’s nearly six-year war in Astana, the three countries said they will use their “influence” to strengthen the truce, without specifying how that would work.

The statement signed by the three sponsors also says the agreement in Astana paves the way for political talks to be held in Geneva on Feb. 8, and welcomed the rebel groups’ participation in the U.N. sponsored talks.

Russia, an ally of the Syrian government, and Turkey, a supporter of the opposition, had negotiated the shaky Dec. 30 cease-fire. Iran, supporter of the government, had approved it. The cease-fire greatly reduced the violence in Syria. But violations continued and the Syrian opposition and the government and its allies exchanged blame.

Kazakhstan’s foreign minister, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, read out the final statement at the end of the meeting, which briefly brought the warring parties together in a face-to-face meeting. But the talks were largely indirect, mediated by the United Nations envoy.

The meeting’s final statement said the three countries “will seek through concrete steps and using the influence of the parties the consolidation the cease-fire” and agreed “to establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the cease fire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the ceasefire.”

The statement said the three nations will continue their joint efforts in fighting the extremist Islamic State group and the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria. They called on the opposition to separate themselves from an al-Qaida-affiliate in Syria, a sticky point that has previously been the reason for the failure of previous cease-fire. The rebel groups have formed close links with the group, known as Fatah al-Sham Front, on the ground. Tough fighters, Fatah al-Sham is excluded from the cease-fire according to the government, but the rebels say the truce should include all of Syria.

Astana featured a brief face-to-face meeting between the government and rebel representatives — their first since the Syrian war began in 2011 — that was quickly followed by harsh exchanges.

After the final statement and in a briefing with journalists, the Syrian government delegate to the talks said the conference succeeded in consolidating the cease-fire in the war ravaged country.

Bashar al-Ja’afari, Syria’s U.N. ambassador who is leading the government delegation to the talks in Astana, said his government did all it could to “remove obstacles” facing the talks in Astana.

Shortly before him, an opposition representative Osama Abo Zayd said the rebels had reservations about the final statement because Iran, which fights alongside the government, should not be considered a sponsor of the talks, but a party to the conflict. </s> ASTANA
• Syrian regime allies Russia and Iran, and rebel supporter Turkey, yesterday signed a memorandum on a Moscow-backed plan to create safe zones in Syria to bolster a fragile truce.

However, a member of the rebel delegation left the room where the peace talks were being held in the Kazakh capital Astana, shouting against Iran.

The Syrian government and rebel delegations are not signatories.

The Kremlin has been touting a plan to create safe zones in Syria that are aimed at "further pacification and cessation of hostilities".

"Over the past two days, the participants in the Astana talks reviewed the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the cessation of hostilities," Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said of a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Ankara in December.

Over the past two days, the participants in the Astana talks reviewed the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the cessation of hostilities. As a result, the guarantor countries agreed to sign a memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria. KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTER KAIRAT ABDRAKHMANOV, on a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Ankara in December.

"As a result, the guarantor countries agreed to sign a memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria."

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the agreement to create safe zones will cover all of Idlib province, as well as parts of Aleppo, Latakia and Homs. It said the deal would ban all use of weapons in those areas.

The aim is to "put an immediate end to the violence" and "provide the conditions for the safe, voluntary return of refugees", as well as the immediate delivery of relief supplies and medical aid, said a copy of the draft document that was seen by Agence France-Presse.

But issues, including which countries could police any safe zones, remain unclear.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that ways to monitor the zones would be an issue for separate talks.

Syrian rebels said earlier yesterday that they had resumed participation in the talks after having suspended their involvement a day earlier over air strikes against civilians.

After talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, Mr Putin said the safe zones were meant to lead to "further pacification and cessation of hostilities". He also said the proposed zones would be no-fly areas if fighting on the ground there stopped entirely.

The Kremlin's plan echoes calls by United States President Donald Trump to establish safe zones in Syria.

Mr Putin said on Wednesday that "as far as I could tell", the US leader broadly supported the idea in a phone call they held on Tuesday.

Mr Erdogan said in comments published yesterday that Moscow's plan to set up these zones in Syria would "50 per cent" solve the six-year conflict.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country's war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Mr Abdrakhmanov said the next Syria peace talks would be held in Astana in mid-July. </s> ASTANA (Sputnik) — The negotiations mediated by Russia, Iran and Turkey are witnessing the first time when the government delegation is seated at the same table as the armed opposition.

According to Kazakh Foreign Ministry, the talks are expected to last for 24 hours and conclude on Tuesday. </s> The presidents of Iran, Turkey and Russia vowed to work for a lasting ceasefire after over seven years of civil war in Syria, following a summit aimed at boosting both peace prospects and also their influence in the country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran's Hassan Rouhani and Russia's Vladimir Putin reaffirmed their commitment to cooperating for "the achievement of a lasting ceasefire between the conflicting parties", a joint communique said.

The meeting in Ankara was the second such tripartite summit after the first hosted by Putin in November in the Black Sea city of Sochi, in a new symbol of an increasingly deep cooperation.

However there was no major breakthrough announced after the summit meeting, and comments by the trio indicated possible tensions in what analysts see as a potentially brittle alliance.

The three powers have backed peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, which they argue are a parallel process to UN-supported discussions in Geneva.

Erdogan insisted their meetings and the Astana talks were not an "alternative" to the Geneva process to find peace in Syria, at a post-summit press conference.

But the three presidents said that so far, "the Astana format had been the only effective international initiative that had helped reduce violence across Syria and had contributed to peace and stability".

- 'Something different every day' -

Experts say that Ankara, Moscow and Tehran are looking to take advantage of the waning Western influence in Syria and reluctance to commit militarily.

Hours before the summit, US President Donald Trump said he wanted to "bring our troops back home" from Syria after indicating last week the US would withdraw from the country "very soon".

But Rouhani hit back, complaining that the "Americans say something different every day."

Unlike the West, the three countries have deployed significant military resources in Syria, with Tehran having a strong ground presence and Moscow ruling the skies.

Turkey meanwhile drove out Kurdish militia from Afrin city on March 18, two months after it launched an offensive in northern Syria supporting Syrian rebels.

Ankara has indicated Turkey could extend its operation to the Kurdish-held town of Manbij and further east, as well as the northern Syrian town of Tal Rifaat.

"We are ready to work together with our Iranian and Russian friends to make Tal Rifaat region liveable for our Syrian brothers and sisters," Erdogan said.

So far the three powers -- whose imperial predecessor states spent much of the last centuries at war -- have managed to keep a lid on their differences on Syria.

While Moscow and Tehran support the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad politically and militarily, Turkey has repeatedly called for his removal and supported Syrian opposition fighters.

But experts say disputes between Moscow and Ankara could come to the fore when the regime turns its attention to Idlib province.

Idlib's civilian infrastructure is largely controlled by the jihadist alliance Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Turkey is keen to prevent a Russia-backed regime assault on the province home to around 2.5 million people. But Moscow wants Ankara to also exert influence over the jihadists in control of Idlib.

Tensions may also be emerging behind the scene between Russia and Iran, with Moscow much more concerned to press for reform under Assad than Tehran.

Meanwhile, according to the Iranian presidency, Rouhani said in the closed-door session that the Afrin area taken by Turkey and its allied forces should be handed over to the Syrian regime's army.

He argued that the Syrian army "is still the symbol of this country's national sovereignty". Turkey's reaction was not made public.

Erdogan also expressed alarm over the situation in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, which has come under heavy regime bombardment over the last weeks, creating a major humanitarian crisis.

Syrian state news agency SANA said evacuations from the former rebel bastion's main town of Douma of Jaish al-Islam fighters and family members were ongoing for a third day.

Erdogan said that the bloodshed in Ghouta had been "ruthless" but avoided any direct criticism of Russia and Putin as the backers of the Syrian regime.

More than 350,000 people have been killed since the war began following anti-government protests in 2011, while millions have been internally displaced or forced to flee. </s> Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 10:22 am |

ASTANA (Reuters) - Russia, Turkey and Iran signed on Thursday a memorandum on creating safe zones in Syria, while the delegation of the armed Syrian opposition walked out and shouted angrily after a new round of peace talks held in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Russia, Turkey and Iran act as guarantors of the Astana peace process.

Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said that next Syria peace talks would be held in Astana in mid-July.

Syria’s armed opposition said it could not accept creating safe zones in Syria because it threatens the country’s territorial integrity and said it would also not recognize Iran as a guarantor of the peace plan.

“We want Syria to maintain its integrity,” opposition delegate Osama Abu Zaid said.

“We are against the division of Syria. As for the agreements, we are not a party to that agreement and of course we will never be in favor [of it] as long as Iran is called a guarantor state.”

Abu Zaid also said that there is “a huge gap” between Russia’s promises and actions.
The second day of peace negotiations in Astana, Kazakhstan, end with the sponsors of the talks, Russia, Turkey and Iran, agreeing to set up commission between the three to monitor and enforce the fragile ceasefire to the Syrian Civil War.