Joint Statement by Iran, Russia and Turkey on the International Meeting on Syria in Astana (Nor Sultan, 25-26 April 2019)

ARK News: The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey as guarantors of the Astana formula:

1. Reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

2. They stressed the need to respect these principles by all countries of the world and that no action, regardless of who has done, should undermine it, in this regard, they strongly condemned the decision of the United States Administration to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as a serious violation of international law, in particular Security Council resolution 497, and threaten peace and security in the Middle East.

They rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism and expressed their determination to stand up against separatist schemes aimed at undermining Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the national security of neighboring countries.

4. They agreed to continue their consultations on the situation in north-eastern Syria and, in this regard, they affirmed that security and stability in the region could only be achieved on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country.

They reviewed in detail the situation in the area of reducing the escalation in Idlib, and they welcomed the steps taken to implement the 17 September 2018 memorandum, they reiterated their determination to fully implement the Idlib stabilization agreements, including coordinated patrols and the effective functioning of the Iran-Russia-Turkey Joint Coordination Center. They also expressed deep concern about the attempts by the terrorist organization Tahrir Al-Sham to increase its control of the region, they reiterated their determination to continue to cooperate in the final elimination of Da’esh and Al-Nusra Front and all individuals, groups, undertakings and other entities associated with Al-Qaida or Da’esh or other terrorist groups as designated by the United Nations Security Council, and also agreed to take concrete steps to reduce violations in the Escalation in Idlib.

6. They expressed their conviction that there could be no military solution to the Syrian conflict, and they reaffirmed their commitment to move ahead with the political process which led and owned by the Syrians and supervised by the United Nations in line with Security Council resolution 2254.

7. They hold detailed consultations on a tripartite basis, as well as with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to Syria, Geir Pederson, to expedite the work of launching the Constitutional Committee as soon as possible in line with the decisions of the Syrian National Dialogue Conference in Sochi, and they decided to hold the next round of such consultations in Geneva and reaffirmed their full readiness to contribute to the efforts of the Special Envoy, including effective dialogue with the Syrian parties.

8. They welcomed the successful processes of the mutual release of detainees in November 2018 and 2019 as part of the efforts of the Working Group on this matter. These processes have constituted a unique and important contribution to the Astana formula for building confidence between the Syrian parties and creating the conditions necessary to advance the political process. They reaffirmed their determination to support the efforts of the Working Group.

9. They stressed the need to continue the humanitarian assistance to all Syrians throughout the country without preconditions. They called on the international community, particularly the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies, to increase their assistance to Syria in line with international humanitarian law by providing additional humanitarian assistance and developing early recovery projects, including restoring basic infrastructures such as water and electricity supply facilities, schools and hospitals.

10. They highlighted the need to create conditions and to facilitate the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their places of origin in Syria and to ensure their right of return and their right to support. In this regard, they called upon the international community to make appropriate contributions and reaffirmed their readiness to continue to interact with all parties concerned, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other specialized international agencies.

11. They discussed the issue of increasing the number of observers in the form of Astana and agreed to invite the neighboring countries of Syria - Iraq, and Lebanon - to join the formula of Astana.

12. Commended the contribution of the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, His Excellency President Nor sultan Nazarbayev, to the successful launch of the Astana formula.
13. They expressed their sincere gratitude to the Kazakh authorities for hosting the twelfth international meeting on Syria in the form of Astana in Nor Sultan.

14 – They decided to hold the next international meeting on Syria in the form of Astana in Nor Sultan in July 2019.

Nor Sultan, 26 April 2019

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