Iran, Russia and Turkey to undertake measures to protect civilians in Idlib
The guarantor states the Islamic Republic of Iran, theRussian Federation and the Republic of Turkey adopted the joint statement as aresult of the meeting. The guarantor states:
1. Reaffirmed their strong commitment to thesovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian ArabRepublic and to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter;
2. Reaffirmed in this regard the respect for universallyrecognized international legal decisions, including those provisions of therelevant UN resolutions rejecting the occupation of Syrian Golan, first andforemost UN Security Council resolution 497;
3. Reviewed in detail the situation in the Idlibde-escalation area and highlighted the necessity to establish calm on theground by fully implementing all agreements on Idlib, first and foremost theMemorandum of 17 September 2018. They expressed serious concern with theincreased presence of the terrorist organization «Hayat Tahrir al-Sham» in thearea and reaffirmed the determination to continue cooperation in order toultimately eliminate DAESH/ISIL, Al-Nusra Front and all other individuals,groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaeda or DAESH/ISIL, andother terrorist groups, as designated by the UN Security Council. Whiledeploring civilian casualties, they agreed to undertake concrete measures,based on the previous agreements, to ensure the protection of the civilianpopulation in accordance with the international humanitarian law as well as thesafety and security of the military personnel of the guarantors present withinand outside the Idlib de-escalation area;
4. Discussed the situation in the north-east of Syriaand emphasized that long-term security and stability in this region can only beachieved on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrityof the country;
5. Rejected in this regard all attempts to create newrealities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism, includingillegitimate self-rule initiatives, and expressed their determination to standagainst separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorialintegrity of Syria as well as threatening the national security of neighboringcountries;
6. Expressed their conviction that there could be nomilitary solution to the Syrian conflict and reaffirmed their commitment toadvance the Syrian-led and Syrian owned, UN-facilitated political process inline with the UN Security Council resolution 2254 and the decisions of theSyrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi;
7. Held detailed consultations on the trilateral basis aswell as with the representatives of the Office of the United NationsSecretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen on the conclusionof formation and launching of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva, inaccordance with the decisions of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress inSochi. They expressed satisfaction with the progress made on finalization ofthe composition and the rules of procedure of the body and reiterated theirreadiness to facilitate the convening of the committee as soon as possible;
8. Welcomed the fourth successful operation on mutualrelease of detainees/abductees held on 31 July 2019 within the framework of therespective Working Group of the Astana format. They underscored that theWorking Group was a unique mechanism, that had proved to be effective andnecessary for building confidence between the Syrian parties, and agreed totake measures to continue and step up its work;
9. Emphasized the need to increase humanitarian assistanceto all Syrians throughout the country without preconditions. In order tosupport the improvement of the humanitarian situation in Syria and the progressin the process of the political settlement, they called upon the internationalcommunity, the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies, to enhance theassistance to Syria, inter alia by developing early recovery projects, includingthe restoration of basic infrastructure assets - water and power supplyfacilities, schools and hospitals as well as the humanitarian mine action. Theyalso discussed the idea and exchanged views on the perspectives of holding theInternational Conference on the Humanitarian Assistance to Syria;
10. Highlighted the need to facilitate safe and voluntaryreturn of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their originalplaces of residence in Syria, ensuring their right to return and right to besupported. In this regard they called upon the international community toprovide appropriate contributions and reaffirmed their readiness to continueinteraction with all relevant parties, including the Office of the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other specializedinternational agencies;
11. Welcomed the participation of the delegations of Iraqand Lebanon as new observers of the Astana format. They expressed theirconviction that the observers (Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon) would contribute tothe efforts to bring peace and stability in Syria;
12. Expressed their sincere gratitude to the Kazakhauthorities for hosting in Nur-Sultan the 13th International Meeting on Syriain the Astana format;
13. Decided to hold the next International Meeting on Syriain the Astana format in Nur-Sultan in October 2019.