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Conflict in Syria

Foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Turkey discuss trust-building measures for Syria

The Astana format will make it possible to scale down the tensions, according to the Turkish foreign minister

MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. Foreign ministers of the countries united in the Astana format of consultations and negotiations on peace settlement in Syria have discussed the measures for building trust between the Syrian authorities and opposition, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday upon the results of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

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Russia, Iran, Turkey warn against attempts to divide Syria

"It is important to build trust between the warring sides in Syria," Cavusoglu said. "We reached an agreement today to hold a new meeting of the workgroup and we hope it will pass and endorse concrete decisions. The Astana format will make it possible to scale down the tensions and to arrange seats at the same table of negotiations for Syrian government officials and opposition representatives likewise."

"This is the only efficacious international initiative," Cavusoglu said.

Instead of facilitating the work of the Astana format, which aims to resolve the Syrian crisis, "some quarters are making attempts to isolate it," he said. "This doesn’t match the notion of fairness in any way. No one should ignore the Astana format."

"We have trust in the viability and importance of this format," Cavusoglu said. "The most recent events have shown the importance of stepping our assistance to resolution of the Syrian crisis."

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Syrian conflict

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