NUR-SULTAN, December 22. /TASS/. Russia, Iran and Turkey, the guarantor countries of the Astana peace process, were able to reduce tensions in Syria over the past half year, Russia’s presidential envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, said on Wednesday.
"Much has been done since the last meeting in the Astana format in the middle of the year," he said at a news conference following the 17th meeting of the group. "First of all, we were able, through joint efforts, to considerably reduce tensions and the extent of armed confrontation in Syria."
Another achievement, the envoy said, was that the number of provocations along the contact line in the Idlib de-escalation zone went down by 90%
In Syria’s south, peacemaking efforts have also made some progress, Lavrentiev said.
The positive track record in the south is helping Syria’s northern provinces, such as Deir ez-Zor, to learn from the good experience, he said. About 12,000 people have settled their status in southern Syria, while another 10,000 did so in the north of the country, he said.
The Astana Format talks dedicated to Syrian settlement kicked off in Nur-Sultan, formerly known as Astana, on December 21 and wrapped up on December 22. The two-day talks were attended by delegations of the guarantor countries - Iran, Russia and Turkey - while the Syrian government, the Syrian armed opposition and the UN also sent negotiators.
An armed conflict has been ravaging Syria since 2011. Negotiations in Nur-Sultan started in 2017, and a congress of the Syrian national dialogue was held in Sochi in January 2018 in an attempt to bring together a wide range of participants at the same venue. In a key decision, the congress created a constitutional committee, which works in Geneva with the aim of setting in motion constitutional reform in Syria.