ASTANA, December 22. /TASS/. Syrian ceasefire guarantor nations, namely Russia, Iran and Turkey, have agreed a document on a working meeting on exchange of hostages in Syria and a statement on humanitarian demining, a Kazakh foreign ministry official said on Friday after a meeting between representatives of the three nations.
"The guarantor nations adopted a joint statement and agreed a document on the establishment of a working group on exchange of detained persons," said Aidar Tumatov, director of the ministry’s Asia and Africa department. "Apart from that, they adopted a statement on humanitarian demining in Syria."
The just-established working group on exchange of hostages in Syria will gather for its first meeting on the sidelines of the next international meeting on Syria in Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday.
"The groups’ first meeting will take place on the sidelines of the next international meeting on Syria in Astana. The group will begin its work by outlining its tasks that might include measures to ensure the implementation of this document," the Russian foreign ministry said.
The eight round of talks on Syria is finishing in Astana on Friday. The focus was made on the agreement of the date and participants in a Syrian national dialogue congress to be held in Russia’s Sochi, and on a document on exchange of hostages. Apart from that, the agenda included the situation in the de-escalation zones, especially in Idlib, and a statement on humanitarian demining.
The next round of talks in Astana is scheduled for February 2018.