Astana created a level of trust between sides of Syria talks - expert
"Syria talks in Astana have given us less than we expected, as we wanted to establish peace. But at the same tme they gave more than they could, as we managed to sit the different parties at the negotiations table", said the expert.
"First of all the talks have let representatives of an otherwise abstract opposition to define its authority. Secondly, when it became clear who is talking to whom, a dialogue was established", said Zhuravlev.
"Yes, it has not got to a point where everyone has reconciled and stepped up as a united front against DAESH and Jabhat al-Nusra. But still, this task has already been set. The opposition and the authorities are together against the ultra-radicals", he added, noting that the idea was also backed by the US.
The line of a "union", which is acceptable for the current US administration, was defined and it is fight against terrorism, which is why we expect that America will join the process. And therefore the number of guarantors would increase, explained the expert, adding that "Astana gave the opportunity to launch a safeguards system that will expand".
In his words, talks in Astana showed a certain level of progress, with Kazakhstan playing a significant role, which is to establish a level of trust between the parties of the process.
"If we consider that for so many years there were progress at all and all negotiations came down to figuring out who is worse, this is huge progress. And the role of Kazakhstan here is very significant. Because the Astana process, which was perceived as "their" by all parties, that is equally acceptable to all, created a level of trust and this is something that the Geneva format was lacking seriously", concluded the expert Zhuravlev.
