NUR-SULTAN, December 21. / TASS /. Moscow expects that the sanction pressure on Syria, levied by several states, will be rolled back in 2022, Russia’s Special Presidential Representative for the Syrian Settlement Alexander Lavrentyev said on Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, the Astana format members and [the Syrian] Constitutional Committee stick to somewhat different approaches. <…> The position and policy of exerting pressure on Damascus through sanctions still remains. But we hope for some changes as early as next year," the Russian envoy noted.

Lavrentyev pointed out that it would be challenging to stabilize the situation in the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation without providing humanitarian aid and launching some projects to revive the Syrian economy. "It is just going to take much longer," the diplomat mentioned.

The 17th International Meeting on Syria in the Astana format is taking place on December 21-22 in Kazakhstan’s capital. The participants are likely to address the future prospects of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva, the recent developments in Syria, efforts focused on maintaining the ceasefire in the de-escalation zones in line with the previous agreements as part of the Astana format. A working group on captives, with the participation of guarantor countries, as well as the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross are going to hold a meeting.